Jake and His People as Leaders
by AB Norway
Summary: Jake and his associates build and fortifies a comprehensive system for Pandora's defence against meddlesome Sky People
1. The 8th Toruk Makto

**Disclaimer**

I am not the owner of the persons of this story met with in the movie and I never will be, I am not making any money whatsoever from this little story and I will never expect to do it either. If anyone feel like building further stories on persons, localities and events here created then they can feel free to do it – provided only that they try to stay in the given pre-histories, given personalities etc., and keep from turning their stories into adult stories. R&R's are welcome.

**Author's Note:**

I tried to denote a hardly intelligible dialect of Na'vi by twisting the English language. I sincerely hope it still is possible to understand it! Tip: Try to read letter by letter and pronounce them, one by one.

* * *

**The 8th Toruk Makto**

After the end of the 2nd Human – Na'vi War Jake put to action a plan he had hatched through many deep discussions with Neytiri, Mo'at, Norm and many others. It was time to build a permanent political structure for all of Pandora, so that neither RDA nor any other intruder ever again should be able to sneak in and profiteer on disunity between clans.

He had decided that one single confederacy, however loose and flexible, was still a political structure too ambitious to last. Rather a community of confederations should be better, meeting at some hallowed and neutral ground – how about the Tree of Souls? – to discuss controversies and mediate disagreements.

Jake sat down with his chartographer Kim Chae Tai and took a look at a map of Pandora. The continents were now a confederation each and every one, with islands off shore added to them. Two archipelagos were too widespread and they didn't naturally belong to any continent, so they were formed into confederations of their own. Each of the confederations sent a representative to the Tree of Souls, to take part in mediations, negotiations and most significantly, making ready for yet another human intrusion should one occur. Jake and some of his councillors were present at the founding meetings of most of them, he gave them good proposals but he didn't try to direct them, they were to be benevolent allies not subordinates of the Namana Land Network.

Even so the various confederations established structures for governance mostly similar to the Namana Land Network Jake headed – a head at the top of it with a vice head at his assistance, advisers to give the head good ideas, a permanent council with representatives from all member clans. The Network Discussion Ring could elect the vice head to succeed the head when he or she became unable to function, they might or they might not allow the vice head to take over. Everyday tasks for the council meetings were mediating border disputes between clan; transfer of clans from one tribe to another, the 22 tribes that made up the Namana Land Network had normally about 10 clans each but one had only three; with resolving conflicts concerning events like insults, ceremonial conflicts and the like. Most confederations established a military organization after the Namana Land model, not that Jake was always happy with their appointments but they were free to make their own choices.

Many of the clans had been little if anything at all known to the Ay'omatikaya before. Mostly the various clans had been happy with Jake's idea, some of them were less than happy with loosing their total independence but accepted that a new era had begun – and a few clans had resisted with force and had had to be subdued, but faced with Toruk Makto most of those were intimidated and many of them had enemies they could need help from, so none of the diplomatic conquests were anything problematic. At least not until they faced the Southern Land continent.

Jake had requests from the Ziniru clan, living at the island likewise named. They were facing a fierce clan living at Southern Land, the Funalzu clan. Jake flew to Ziniru Island and brought his experts along to study the problem.

"We are faced with a problem down here." Kim Chae said and pointed south. "Southern Land is a quite large continent, satellite photos has said that there are some fifty clans there and that is a lot given their far southern latitudes. The South Pole of Pandora is not far off its southern coast, the northern coastline is not too far off the southernmost group of islands of the Western Islands Confederation. This area is the only one left at Pandora absolutely not affected by the system of confederations established after the 2nd Human – Na'vi conflict."

Tsahik Neytiri and the Omatikaya master of history telling Atanzau both declared their ignorance about this land, he said: "That land has been absolutely unknown to most Na'vi, even the Ikran clan facing them on the other side of the Southern Ocean has only heard vague and inconsistent rumours. And the people at the land has been even more of a mystery, the few Ikran clan fishers who drifted ashore there long ago didn't report any inhabitants at all."

Norm functioned as a sort of Namana Land Confederation "minister of foreign affairs", he said: "The only clan known to me who have any sort of experience with them at all is the Ziniru Islander clan, they have a long-standing feud with them over a small islet where they go to find their ay'ikran. What they have said about them is uniformly hostile: A people of aggressive fighters and inveterate raiders. Records from RDA say that there never was any mining presence among them, not even at the neighbouring islands. Those people may in other words be totally ignorant about the struggle that has been going on elsewhere at the moon of Pandora, they are probably not even aware of that the name of this world as an entity is Pandora..." Jake had information about their warrior abilities too, they were weak in the air – not so many ikrans – but they had a good many canoes and the warriors were outstanding archers and vicious in hand-to-hand fighting.

Jake concluded: "No matter, we do need to bring them into our system of mediation and contact, we can't risk a chink in the armour around Pandora where an infiltrating probe from Earth can find entry. I will send a messenger to them to inquire."

The messenger came back a month later, after long flights. She was rather perplexed. "I never met such asocial and aggressive clans. They are not interested in peace agreements, the olo'eytkan I met said that peace is for themselves to create by the might of their arms, they are not interested in neutrals to mediate. The clans of the land trade among themselves and do not take any interest in trade outside the continent. They intermarry with others from the same continent, they never marry off their land. They even look and sound different: They have curly hair, no coloured stripes on their bodies but flowery blots instead, short and thick tails with a longer tuft of hair at the end, and they talk a dialect of Na'vi that is hard to understand. And get this: They say that their Eywa lives in a big, glowing rock in the inland so they don't know about the Tree of Souls and don't care much either; and they just laughed when I introduced myself as a representative from the sixth Toruk Makto. In the end they asked me to leave instantly, they even showed me the arrow they would shoot into my belly if I didn't…"

Norm commented: "In other words they sound much like the Omatikayas when you first ventured into the forest, Jake."

Neytiri gazed at Norm and burst out: "We have come to learn much since then, so that is no good way of comparing."

But Norm insisted: "But think about it, Neytiri: Selfridge and Quaritch were also faced with a sceptical, unwilling and aggressive people they didn't know much about, one that was very ignorant about them and not very interested either. So may be we should try a method like they intended to do with Jake, sending in a helpless one among them, let them train him or her up like one of their hunters and then use this one as a trust-building opening. For the infinitely more benevolent end than those two men had planned, of course."

Jake concluded the debate: "I might go for that one, Norm. But that way is risky – we can't assume that it will work out all right – for instance, how can we know that our agent will end up in a love story with someone in that clan? We should retain that option for use later on, if our first action is unsuccessful. I opt for a forceful demonstration, like we used to convince the humans at Gargoyle Fish Land to surrender at the end of the war. Let's see what the outcome of that one will be. Whether it be success or not, we will at least learn to know the people at the Southern Land better."

A messenger was sent to Southern Land a week before Jake and his entourage took to the air, with a message: "Jake Sully, the sixth Toruk Makto, olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya clan and the grand tsamshiu eyktan of the Namana Land Confederation, will be visiting You in peace in a week, and he is expecting to be received with a courteous welcome! He is coming to put an end to the strife between clans in the seas."

So the day came, some Omatikaya musicians arrived first of all riding on ikrans and landed in front of the clan hometree. A drummer took the drum he had brought and some trumpeters took up place in two rows with an alley in between. He drummed to catch the attention of the clanspeople and called out: "Jake Sully, the sixth Toruk Makto, the olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya clan and the head of the Namana Land Network, is now about to arrive to You, to visit You in peace!" And the trumpets gave a fanfare. Then he landed, followed by Neytiri, Norm and Derek Gill, and a olo'kumpongu of warriors. Jake marched up to the old man with a formal cape who stood and watched, obviously the olo'eytkan. Jake gave him his martial greeting, knife to his face and a little bow. And he said: "I see You, Itsihul, olo'eytkan of the Funalzu clan! We have come here to discuss peace with You!"

Itsihul calmly replied, with an unyielding gaze in his eyes: "Ai kan diskuss vitt ju butt ai nid tu hav a tak vitt auer oun toruk makto alsou. Kurulan te Wanata Ingifo'itan, te eit toruk makto."

Jake replied with astonishment: "Your own toruk makto?" If he had looked around he would have seen a similar bewilderment in the eyes of others visiting who also had heard what Itsihul had said.

Neytiri for one made eyes so huge that they almost rolled out of her eye-sockets: "The EIGHTH Toruk Makto?"

Norm whispered a reply to her confused question: "Jake is the sixth Toruk Makto all right – of the world known to most Na'vi. But remember that these are ay'na'vi who have been living in isolation for a long time, Kurulan is THEIR eighth toruk makto."

Jake had hardly time to ponder what he had heard, someone at the hometree called out: "Nao te eit Toruk Makto, Kurulan te Wanata Ingifo'itan, iss arraiving hier!"

And then a toruk landed and a big and muscle-bulging warrior jumped off. He walked straight to Jake, hostility glowing in his eyes and took a stand right in front of him. He put a hard index finger on Jake's chest and said: "Ai si ju, Omatikayan meil Jake Sully! Vi hier at dis land ar nott interested in meiking pis vitt ju, naider nao nor leiter. Vi teik auer pis bai viktori at var, vi du nott tak abaut it. Du ju understand? It iss ju hu iss asking for pis vitt os nott oposit, an vi si nou rison to meik pis vitt ju! Ter iss notting to tak abaut. If ju du nott vant to abus auer hospitaliti den ju liv os nao, at oans!"

Jake protested: "But we are not trying to conquer Your land, we have just fought a very dangerous enemy from the skies out of this world, we fear they will soon try to return by playing on Your lack of experience with them. This is why we hope You will agree to send a representative to the Omatikaya sacred tree to take part in a permanent forum for mediating, information and coordinating; Your warriors will receive training in very efficient ways of resisting those tawtutes. Would You be interested in that we leave an Omatikayan toddler among You as Your hostage, to guarantee our good intentions?"

Kurulan was intransigent: "Du dat an dat chaild vill dai te dai after ju hav left from hier! Vi ar nott interested in Jor gud intenshons, ounli in biing sou paoerfull dat vi alvais get vat vi vant, ven vi vant it."

Jake could feel his blood rising to his head: "Mind You, we regard it as so towering important to all Na'vi clans that all of this world must be united into one front against any new intrusions by Sky People that we will not budge. If You force us into allying with the Islanders to pull You into the great peace of our world we will, make no mistake about it! Think carefully if You want to declare war against all the rest of this world – You are very likely to loose!"

Kuluran's eyes flamed as he exploded: "Dis iss a var tret! Nao liv os, ju eilien! Si dis bou? Ai gott an arou too! Ju laik to fil hao shap it iss? LIV!"

Jake took a bow, turned and marched down to his toruk and mounted it, and so did his entourage. When all of them had mounted Kurulan shot his arrow in front of them. And they took to the air.

They flew to the Ziniru Islander clan hometree and told the olo'eyktan there that those at the Southern Land were hostile, even in the face of the rest of all of Pandora. The united front against new Sky People coming down was too important to allow some clans with narrow minds and horizons to leave a door open. To protect the Ziniru against attacks Jake promised them a guard, and there would be more to come shortly.

Jake took the intransigence of the Southerners as a personal affront. "It shouldn't be too hard to teach them a serious lesson! And is really all of Southern Land behind the Funalzu clan? All Na'vi versus only them… And since we know stratagems they can only be ignorant of victory should be assured…"

Norm interrupted his vengeful thoughts. "Do remember, Jake, it isn't very long time since we just ended a long and hard war. Many clans of many of the confederations are not really recuperated yet. So you will have trouble recruiting for a full assault force against Southern Land, and even those confederations who as of now are loyal with us may well jump off if the Namana Land confederation is heavily defeated. The Southern Land clans are feeling that they are fighting with their backs to the wall, they are likely to fight with a dogged bravery. Sending ashore some spies will be hard, we know even less about their traditions than RDA knew about other Na'vi before they launched the 2nd War, so they may well reveal our agents quite easily! And even if you manage to take control over a bridgehead at Southern Land, we will still be in the position of RDA at Namana Land: We may – Eywa forbid – become target of a guerrilla war! So do take care, Jake!"

Jake came to his senses again: "OK, we postpone heavy action for a new push in some time. We can wait. Until later we supply the Ziniru islanders with means to defend themselves: Experienced warriors – here they may have an excellent opportunity to hone their skills… "

Time passed. A station of resident warriors was put up at the Ikran Islet, at the canoe sheds and at the Ziniru hometree, Jake appointed his assistant Network head Tsailoni the Tipani to stay put at the Ziniru Island to manage the defence of the island including the Ikran Islet. Jake had asked the Network Council for a brave and smart candidate for the job as his own lieutenant and Tsailoni was given him. It was important to Jake that the clans didn't perceive him as biased to the Omatikaya clan or the Dreamwalkers so he accepted Tsailoni in the end.

After an initial wave the Funalzu – Ziniru conflict dwindled to a raid every now and then, seldom with any blood loss at all – in other words the conflict had more or less sunk down to the same level of hostility as had been going on for a long time between the Ziniru and Funalzu clans.

Then something happened that almost forced Jake's hand, about five years after the end of the 2nd War. A Valkyrie space ferry came down to Pandora, claiming an emergency case when they landed. They came up to the Western Islands region from south – they had in other words been passing over Southern Land. Afterwards the Funalzu warriors were suddenly making a more headstrong impression than ever before – had they been given some firearms by the crew at the Valkyrie? Jake knew better than to ask however – the Funalzu would never give any reliable answer to such a question.

The Valkyrie crew didn't do any funny business while down at Pandora, the confederates kept their eyes on them and having done their engine repairs they soon took off and left. But Jake's suspicion had been roused. He got more suspicious than ever when a Ziniru fisher came to him and reported that he had heard boom boom and boom from the inland of the continent once while he was fishing close to the Southern Land coastline late in the night. Sounds from a Funalzu shooting range? Or just plain thunder? Some time later a log was found floating in the sea close to Southern Land, a bullet was picked out of it. Norm protested that this log could have been floating around for a long time, the bullet might have been fired during the fight for some other island during the 2nd War. But Jake had by now so many indicia that there was merit to a closer investigation.

In the dead of night a canoe with infiltrating agents paddled ashore at Southern Land. They tip-toed through the night and hid well during days, they looked around and gathered information, but never found any evidence of human presence. But they saw clear signs of good cooperation between the various clans – people coming and going, sometimes with females in tow. The agents evacuated by night after some days stay on shore. After many expeditions a certain pattern stood out.

The Funalzu was clearly the most powerful clan, hardened after a long, long conflict with the Ziniru. Their rôle as the shield of Southern Land evidently gave them a preponderant part to play in the politics of the Land. But there were no visible formal structure to it, there seemed only to be a tacit understanding that the Funalzu took care of the defence and had the backing of the other clans in return for it, with volunteers all the time joining in and supplies of food and raw materials keeping them up to power. The spies gave the Funalzu a force of about a thousand men of arms-bearing ability – hardened fighters most of them… A very large clan in other words, the beyond comparision largest of the continent.

What the spies saw no trace of were firearms. Jake felt relief, it had all been a false alarm. Norm felt relieved too, the immediate danger for armed conflict had passed. It was still time to recuperate, still some time for the belligerent leaders of the Funalzu to pass into the embrace of Eywa. A couple of years after the incident with the Valkyrie Itsihul really did, but evidently Kurulan took over so they were still at stumbling point. This ever-lasting petty conflict was no more than a convenient advanced training ground for warriors of various confederations.

Then suddenly one day a whole fleet of Funalzu canoes appeared off the Ikran Islet. The islet was overrun and the warrior garrison was driven off the islet – but critically they managed to capture a Funalzu warrior and bring him back to Ziniru Island. Olo'tsamshiu eyktan Milizaman was roundly cursed by the Ziniru olo'eyktan Peyenge for loosing the islet, Tsailoni didn't look very happy with him either. But Jake calmed them down when he came with a powerful force to inspect the mess. "Easy now brothers, this may well be a blessing in disguise for now the enemy will have to divide his force to defend both the mainland AND the islet. And Milizaman brought back something very important – a war captive. We will interrogate him to find out what is really going on here."

Making the prisoner open his mouth showed to be very simple, a good meal serving was what it took. "Ai vas veri hongri, nao ai am fed, tank ju!"

Jake set his eyes on him: "So now you tell us what we want to know, OK? You can start with explaining us why the Funalzu all of a sudden are making an attack this big."

"It hass bin a bad jear for te frut tris. Mani Funalzu gou hongri. Som ar saiing tat Kurulan iss a bad olo'eytkan, dei sai tat hi iss nott garding Eywa's balans ov neitur. Den big skandal happend, sonn ov Kurulan meit vitt tu fimeils, vitt a Funalzu gerl an alsou vitt gerl fom anodder klan. Kurulan nided a big var to meik klans fogett hiss sonn's bad vais an tu stai olo'eytkan. Hi nao nid still mor big viktoris."

Jake made a sly grin and said: "Well, now Kurulan has got his big war and he has taken a 'big' victory, he has pulled his son off the hook for his bigamy and secured his rank – for the time being. Right now everything is glorious for him, I bet he is feeling top of the world. So let's give him a lesson that you shouldn't sell the bear's fur until you have shot it. Collect all kumpongu of warriors within a day's range and make them come here – ASAP! Also we need canoes, lots of them, go to other clans of the Western Islands confederation and ask for them. We have a golden opportunity right now!" Few Na'vi understood his allegory about bears and shooting but all understood that he had cooked up a plan, so they set about mustering a force.

The morning after Jake had ten kumpongu of warriors, i.e. about 500 warriors, plus about double as many hunters, scouts and other able with arms. "Now what, toruk makto?" asked Peyenge.

Jake: "We do NOT attack Ikran Islet, then we will just be back at square one, and we want to eliminate this threat once and for all. We aim for the mainland of Southern Land itself and we shall strike hard."

Peyenge protested: "But when you get over there the ikrans will be tired after so long a flight, there will not be much flight left in them."

Jake: "That is why I am mustering all the available canoes. We will build a floor on them, two by two. These double canoes can then serve as roosts for our ikran while we row over in the night. I will come over, riding on Shadow, my toruk, she is a stronger flyer than most ikran. When I have come over we attack at once, we are not going to face very heavy resistance for most of their small air force is probably located at Ikran Islet to defend it, and they imagine the sea between Ziniru Island and the mainland of Southern Land as too wide to launch an airborne attack over, like you did Peyenge. When they then come back intending to drive us away it will be us who are rested and ready for taking on them. Add to this that we have a little firearms left from the Great War, that we will make good use of to subdue them, they have very little experience fighting against such arms. The flying time over to Southern Land is about four hours, is that correct brother? And paddling time?"

"More or less, yes. It should take almost all the night to paddle over."

Derek Gill put in his word in support of his boss: "But bro'er, we're not goin' to paddle all the way o'er, we paddle just close enough to go at 'em from sea."

"I see, but how can so many boats be kept on the right course over open sea in the dark of the night?"

"The boats will be roped one to another, and do remember: I know 'ow to navigate by stars. I am a proud 'sea dog', ya see mate. They often do at Earth, still after so many years of sat-nav."

So in the dusk, some days later, the warriors laid down at the floor of the constructed double canoes and went to sleep below their roosting ikran, and the canoemen of Gill and his Islander colleague Toiki took care of the paddling job out to sea. They had had a quick meal with Gill standing in the bow of the leading ship to set the course, and paddled straight ahead until they glimpsed a torch erected and ignited by a spy to guide them ashore in the night. Those not going to fight were told to spread around in the forest at the Ziniru Island and a kumpongu of scouts was left to defend them, just in case.

The war party went airborne when they could see Jake above them in the early morning, the canoe fleet paddled in on the coastline to give a second attack wave. When the mainland came in full view the about hundred ikran riders flew low down, almost at the top of the sea surges, to let the horizon hide them for as long as possible. The effect at the Funalzu hometree was devastating, people ran in every direction. Only a few hunters were present and fired arrows, the rest of them were probably dispersed among the various clans or present at the Ikran Islet, so the occupation of the hometree went swiftly. All ikran-riders landed and allowed their winded ay'ikran to rest, they ran to the larders of the Funalzu and "confiscated" the meat they found there, to feed their mounts. Having done that the riders immediately walked to the main square and listened. Jake now said: "First phase of the attack is now finish. Now all of you must take up defence positions as you were told yesterday, to defend our conquest against the counterattack that soon will come."

So happened: A scout took up sentry at the top branch of the hometree. The ikrans were hid behind the tree. Then all the warriors took cover behind tree branches and wherever else they could hide. And everyone waited for the counterattack.

After about two hours the sentry blew his flute once, the arranged signal for "ikran sighted". Jake thought to himself: "They have no warlike experience with ay'tawtute soldiers so they are making a bad mistake, almost the same mistake as the Imperial Japanese Navy did at the battle at Midway: Allowing their air force to operate on its own and leaving the sea force alone, without mutual support that is."

Only about thirty ikrans landed, the Southern Land clans were not strong in the air. Once landed Jake gave signal to fire, bullets and arrows flew and ten minutes later only five of the Funalzu ikran riders still stood, they surrendered but Kurulan had already taken to the air unharmed and flown to the sea.

So Jake and his élite warriors sat down and waited for the arranged signal for "canoe sighted", two whistle blows, the main attempt at driving the invaders out. Then Jake and his warriors took to the air and headed for the Ikran Islet, they flew high and dived down, and dropped the bombs they were carrying at the Funalzu canoe fleet.

Suddenly the sea itself exploded around the canoes. Some canoes were flung high up in the air, others were broken and the watery shockwaves capsized many canoes. And some crews at floating canoes were decimated when after the bombardment they were strafed by gunners in the sky. Jake grinned to himself and thought: "My sincere thanks to Chester Nimitz!"

Only ten canoes came ashore, the crews looked dishevelled and distraught, and with guns and bows aiming at them – they didn't loose much time with surrendering. And finally Kurulan landed his toruk, unharmed but looking very cowed. Jake could afford to be magnanimous now, so he greeted his brave but vanquished foe:

"Oel ngati kameie, Kurulan te Wanata Ingifo'itan the eighth Toruk Makto and olo'eytkan of the Funalzu clan! I am Jake Sully, the sixth Toruk Makto, Weaver of the Namana Land Network and olo'eytkan of the Omatikaya clan. If You fear that Your whole clan, and the other clans of the land too, will be driven out of their homes then I have good news for You, we will not.

We only demand that You make peace with your Ziniru neighbours – we will send mediators. We demand that You send a representative or more from the network of clans of the Southern Land that You are the leader of to the meeting ground where all the networks of this world meet to discuss controversies and disagreements so that we can avoid wars between us. And we demand that You along with other clan networks of this world will take part in refusing the Sky People any opportunity to land and spread havoc among us.

This last condition is the most important one, we invite some of Your storytellers to come to us so our storytellers can explain for them just how important this is. We recognize that You have little if any experience with Sky People, so we hope to get an opportunity to explain this. The bravery of the Funalzu clan will make a welcome addition to our defence against them. To extend Your warlike ability even further our warriors will explain You some useful tricks. Welcome to our society of clan networks, Funalzu clan and other clans of Southern Land! Please inform me when your representatives can come calling at the Tree of Souls!"

Kurulan had never expected such magnanimity from a victorious enemy, and nobody had ever before talked to him like a lord over the whole of Southern Land – it tickled his ego mightily… He was used to being regarded as a mighty one and a great hero, lately even to be head of the clan – but being regarded as the top guy of all of the Land, now that was a new and very exhilarating feeling!

When Southern Land negotiators came to the Tree of Souls they were highly astonished at the welcome they were received with. Once they sat down with negotiators from the Western Island Network, Kim Chae Tai joined the discussion ring and she pointed out a group of small, barren islands northwest of Southern Land the clans they had never known about, these islets were far out at sea but they were nest sites of huge flocks of ikran, easily enough for all the clans at the Land. The Ziniru clan was gladly left with their Ikran Islet when a whole bunch of islands were left for the Southern Land clans alone.

Living in peace with their neighbours and learning to live in peace without intimidating opponents was a marked change in the outlook of the clans Kurulan now was the formal leader of. But they soon saw the benefits of it.


	2. Cultural Development Aid

**Cultural Development Aid**

Having driven out the sawtute second time too, Jake and his Na'vi fellow leaders and his fellow former humans set out to build an all-inclusive political structure for Pandora, to create a moon-wide defence against new human intrusions. But such a defence would have to be complete, so all the 14 continents of the moon, plus two archipelagoes that didn't naturally belong to any continent, were formed into federations of their own, with representation at the sacrosanct meeting ground at the Tree of Spirits.

Many of the federations were created as byproduct of the conflict during the Long War, or the 2nd Human – Na'vi Conflict as they said at the human mining colonies at the other moons of Polyphemous. Like the Western Islands federations, the Nongona, the Tomo'ingi, the Northern and others. Some were enrolled afterwards through persuasion and diplomatic pressure, such as the Meme'ngipx, the Feo and the Kikxitx federations. Only the Southern continent tried as a whole to forcibly resist incorporation in the network of federations and had to be enrolled by military means.

However, after winning them over came the task with harmonizing the ways of those new federations. There was a fine balance act between too little harmonizing and too much, both would make for strife and turning the Great Peace Council into a less efficient tool for conflict mediation. Some differences were simple to handle, the polished and very formal way of talking at the Tomo'ingi federation and the "ain't givin' 'em no bullshit" frankness at the Northern federation could be ironed out with a respect for the traditions of others. Such establishment dealings was very often left to Norm, his education at Earth as a social anthropologist and the very formal way of speaking Na'vi he had picked up was suited for diplomacy – it was one of the main reasons that Jake had assigned him the grand scouting eyktan brief.

But when Norm sat down with the people at the newly established Barren Lands federation, he was frustrated. He afterwards gave Jake a depressed report.

"To explain the predicament of us who are to work out this constitution, I can explain you a little about these folks.

This is a small continent with a swarm of small islands dusted around the mainland. It is located northeast of Gargoyle Fish Land, in the northern dry zone so there isn't much forest on land – the seas are teeming with fish though so these clans are mostly fishers. Only two or three clans are living away from the shoreline and they make a meager living in the rainy zone in the valleys in the small mountain range in the inland and along the one large river running down from that range.

As an anthropologist I know that it is 'sinful' to speak the term 'primitive' but concerning these folks I feel so very tempted at uttering it. They live more or less at the level old tales describe as the way of life of all na'vi before the first toruk makto, in tented camps they move around in that is, mostly between islands offshore and the mainland coastline. 'Clan' is probably a misnomer for their society units, 'band' is probably better – none of those fifty–something 'clans' are much above a couple of hundred members. It is a sparsely populated region – I can't imagine that there are as much as ten thousand of them all told. If they have some techniques of keeping from overexploiting their resources other than a traditional frugal life and moving around as they deplete them I can't say, I never heard about any. They don't specialize in crafts and their all-purpose leader is simply their 'eyktan' who is often but not always a male – they have no tsahik. Ay'ikran and fa'li (i.e. banshees and direhorses) are merely culinary items for them, not beasts of mounting and partnering with. They are not aware of the powers of the trees of voices and care little for the Tree of Souls. Those bands are in a permanent state of strife over blood revenge and competition for resources, conflicts are rarely bloody but they last on and on. Bands hardly ever last for generations, they often break and join with other bands when an eyktan of great prestige goes to the arms of Eywa, during the frequent famines or after a disastrously lost conflict, few at Barren Islands will live their lives without experiencing their band going to pieces at least once in their lifetimes. Finally, they don't aknowledge Eywa as more than a hunter's and fisher's guiding spirit who may or may not be benevolent to the hunting or fishing of the day.

As a founding father of many federations I do understand and respect my duty to interfere as little as possible in their age old traditions. But the big question then will be how to create a strong federation at Barren Lands, as traditions nowadays go this federation is likely to be a brittle one."

"Hmmm, a dilemma for sure! Some good news about them, please."

"Well, they at least made no fuss about joining our system of federations. They are afraid of their Toto'ki neighbours to the east and the Myomyo to the south. People of those federations are not particularly warlike – the Myomyo clans have a reputation for vindictiveness and blood revenge though – but they have in the past been severely annoyed with predatory raids from Barren Lands, the clans at the northeastern coastline of Gargoyle Fish Land have also seen a few raids by them, they are happy too to be rid of those plunderers, for now that they have been united under our patronage tables have been turned and some prominent ay'eyktan at Barren Lands have been asking for our assistance in mediating. So lack of willing isn't any problem, ability with implementing is."

"But if they are so few and so backwards, how have they managed to be an aggressive raiding society, even without ay'ikran and fa'li? How have they managed to keep from being overwhelmed by their neighbours?"

"They even out their enemies' mounted and airborne advantage by utilizing the daily occurring phenomenon called 'night'. No ikran is fond of taking to the wings during the night, by sticking to coastlines they have no need for fast movement on land and by hiding in mangrove forests during days they evade those who try to drive them away or nab them after the raid. And living in such a meager nature they are not envied for their territories either."

Jake saw the dilemma of Norm and had a debate with Neytiri, Mo'at, master historian Atanzau, his n-i-c Tsailoni and some other prominent na'vi, to hear their opinion. Their opinions expressed in few words:

Tsailoni: "Interfering with a heavy hand is what we are always trying to avoid. But leaving them outside our system could leave a gaping, festering ulcer in the net of politics we are building up here at Pandora. It would invite to permanent conflict, Barren islanders asking ay'sawtute for help and there we go again."

Neytiri: "Even without Sky People intervention it is the recipe for conflict. And since the Barren Islanders are backward they might lose in the end, it could be a Pandora version of the sad stories about culture destructions Norm has told us has happened many times at Earth. If we force them to develop it could be the best thing that could happen to them after all."

Atanzau: "And Neytiri, don't you remember the story of the Mizotx clan? It has happened before, at Pandora too, and long time before we knew anything about the Sky People! I agree with you, Neytiri."

Mo'at: "All the same, there is a sense deep in my head that starts tingling when speaking about forcing into adaptation. Eywa has decreed what their life ought to be and we better not interfere into Her decisions."

Jake: "But then those bands have indicated willingness to reform by contacting us. That should count for a lot. We can offer change, assist with change desired by the Barren Land clans themselves, that isn't the same thing as forcing to change. It should be possible to find a compromise between retaining old traditions and adapting to changing times. I propose we give Norm a go ahead signal with adapting their ways, in cooperation with the prominent people of the Barren islanders of course. Voice your protest if it is unflinching, please."

Mo'at so to say put her cards down and refrained from making any more protest now. Norm was sitting and listening in to the debate and having a licence to start in earnest with them he rose up. Now he would have a busy schedule, so going to Barren Lands he brought his number two as supreme Namana scout leader, Kiotak the U'o'ne, to have some extra brains to think and argue with. A head scouting teacher from one of the scouting schools was brevetted as interim scouting head leader in their absence – with the promise that successfully managing this task in the absence of Norm and Kiotak would look good on his resume. He might one day be named a grand scouting leader himself – may be…

So the two of them arrived at the selected meeting place at Barren Islands, a grove in a river oasis below the mountain range. They set to work in earnest the day after, but already at first evening they held preliminary speeches.

Norm intoned: "Change is coming to Barren Lands, for the clans that have been Your favourite prey are no more isolated clans but subjects of whole federations eager to defend against raids and may be willing to retaliate in kind. Learning to live in external peace with them will be beneficial then, and internally peace too so that desperation won't force into raiding neighbours. Don't You agree, ay'eyktan?"

Thirty or forty ay'eyktan were sitting and listening, one of them rose up and replied: "We do, we see that times are changing. But we also see that we need a guiding hand in this change. But it is a little hard to get what you are saying, so could you speak in simple words, please?" The dialect was guttural if easily understandable and words were simple – the dialect might have a meagre vocabulary. They were sitting without any formal insignia Norm could see, a Barren Lands eyktan probably had neither any formal attire, inauguration rituals nor any backup authority like a tsahik, and he or she was probably not elected but just "standing out".

So Norm and Kiotak explained in short how things worked elsewhere at Pandora, why these reforms had been initiated – after the expulsion of the dangerous meddlers from the skies they said. An eyktan commented: "Yes, we have heard talk about them." Norm took up the line: "Then you probably understand well why it is so important to build a defence that covers all of this world, the federation – sorry, network – we are offering to assist You with building up should be a part of this, it is more than just mutual peace mediation between the lands here. Or you could say peace making between to enemies." He often had to repeat and rephrase his explanations to be understood by the Barren Lands ay'eyktan. Finally, after quite some time, he concluded: "Now we need to find out how to fit traditions that rule here into this framework – ooops, into this over all higher order tradition – we are creating. As little as possible of your hallowed – proud and sacred, that is – old traditions should be reformed. Norm has spoken."

That was however for the next day. Norm and Kiotak were tired after a long voyage and went early to rest for the night.

Earnest debates started the next day. Norm gave an initial statement. "What we basically are out for, is to keep the sawtute from ever returning in power and malevolence – dangerous plans that is. To accomplish that we of course need teach you suitable fighting abilities and stratagems – oh no, planning knowledge is a better way of saying it. But equally important it is to build a worldwide understanding among all clans, so that sawtute can't come down and play on petty strife to gain a foothold. You have probably heard how they duped ignorant na'vi with narrow horizons into their service, that is what we have to avoid for the future. Building such a worldwide understanding takes talking about peaceful conditions between clans, within regions as well as between them. Are You understanding me well so far, all of You honoured ay'eyktan? Norm has said his opening statement."

One of them rose and he stated: "It is sometimes hard to grasp your words, but we mostly do. We'll ask You to say again if we simply can't take in what you are saying. Pxa'rau has spoken." And he sat down again.

Kiotak continued. "Just to repeat what we told You yesterday night about how na'vi at other lands are doing it nowadays. Eight to twelve clans in each "bundle", all "bundles" of the land together in one "network". Each clan is under a leader of worldly affairs who is the olo'eyktan, his mate is the tsahik who is leader of spiritual affairs of the clan. Member clans elect representatives to advice the tribal chieftain, the "bundle" chieftain, likewise at "network" level. The "bundle" chieftain is elected among the clan chieftains with the consent of the clans, likewise again at "network" level. The clan is further made up of profession groups under one "small eyktan", further subdivided in gangs of ten under a srung taronyu ("able hunter"), in the same way good warriors under an olo'tsamshiu eyktan, whether fighting in air, mounted on fa'li or at foot. Five such gangs is the common size of an olo'kumpongu (clan warrior force). There are schools for training this leadership. How could we manage to establish something like this among the Barren Landers? That is the question of Kiotak."

Another local eyktan spoke up. "No band among us can hope to manage anything like this. Our land simply isn't fruitful enough to carry so big an affair as that. But the network we want to establish – may be… Ninat has spoken."

Norm grabbed the line: "That could be the key! A tsahik and various profession leaders not in every band but in the federation leadership! One school for the whole federation, with classes for each profession. One gang of experts of the federation, like we na'vi otherwise have a household hunting team, a federation warrior guard, a federation singing choir etc.! And an eyktan for each of these small tribes, plus one You can send to the Nawm Fpom Lawk'us (The Great Peace Council). We offer to teach You how to ride fa'li and ikran if You should be interested, we can send experts to teach You hunting – gathering – fishing practices so that outbreaks of hunger will be unlikely, so not forcing You to go a-raiding. Norm has…"

But then he was interrupted by a man coming running into the debate circle. "Sorry for interrupting this meeting of worthies but I have urgent news! A raiding fleet, probably from the Myomyo Land, has been sighted!"

Norm rose in a rush. "What the heck? They have been notified, in terms nobody could mistake, that emissaries from Toruk Makto himself would be bringing peace to these seas. So what the … are they out for?"

Kiotak rose too. "No way to know but what I do know is that Toruk Makto must be notified at once." He turned to a bystanding hunter of the Barren Lands. "Run to where our following ikran ay'makto are resting and tell one of them to fly west to Namana Land, instantly. If the messenger gets exhausted then he must find a local ikran makto who can carry the message further. Toruk Makto Jakesully must get to know that some Myomyo sea warriors are approaching at this critical point of time, they may or they may not come in peace. His presence is in any case demanded." Then he turned to Norm. "We two must now confront the Myomyo raiders and tell them to cease on the spot if they intend to attack. It may be foolhardy but it is probably the best option, they may hesitate with attacking emissaries with immunity."

Norm had never felt at ease with personal bravery, though he could be aroused to it. Defusing a risky situation, with unknown aggressors and for the benefit of faraway people he honestly didn't feel any hot emotions for, didn't make bravery any more appealing for him either. But he knew what was now demanded from him and he was loath to disappoint Jake and the rest of them, so he joined Kiotak.

Even for his experienced scouting masters mounted on ay'ikran, belonging to the élite scouting staff of the Great Peace Council and with the support of those with local, homegrown knowledge of the Barren Lands, it still took quite some time to locate the raiders hiding in the mangroves, not far from the southern point of the southern end of the islands belonging to Barren Lands. But they were found in the end, five canoe loads of sea warriors and a gang of ikran-riders, not quite fifty with a paddle and ten in the air in other words. Judging from adornments at garment, weapons and canoes they were not all Myomyo, it looked like some warriors of the more distant Tomo'ingi federation were among them too.

Norm and Kiotak landed in front of the sea warrior with a belt who looked like the head woman of the raiders. Norm now took the limelight as he was expected to do.

"Warriors on water and in the air, now listen. We two, Norm te Memfis Ron'itan and Kiotak te U'o'ne Murumar'itan, are emissaries from the Namana Land Federation, sent to create peace between the Barren Land people and their neighbours, and while we are discussing this there should be no armed disturbances. Under any circumstance. Are you about to commit such a disturbance?"

The belted sea warrior stood out among the raiders. She might have been picked out as the most prominent fisher of the clan or she might have been one of the first graduates from the Myomyo school of fishing and sea warriors.

"Honoured emissaries, I am Loluri te Kenuti Roine'ite. My sister Naomao was killed by raiders from the Lone Tree clan at Barren Lands, so I am seeking vengeance for her before the opportunity for it closes. To ensure success I invited my cousin Ruzuzu from Tomo'ingi Land to assist me with his ikran-flyers. I asked him to follow because I knew that I would only have one fleeting chance to get my vengeance before my opportunity would be lost forever, so to ensure success I needed air survey. And now I demand You, respected emissaries, to step aside so we can seek out the Lone Tree folks!"

Norm and Kiotak stood their ground and Kiotak put up his index finger. "This opportunity of Yours is already lost, the Barren Lands is by now a federation in its own right, under government so that such events like those are never to happen again, they will learn to live in the peace of Eywa like everyone else. Should You disrespect this fact then do aknowledge that Toruk Makto Jakesully is on the way to take on those disturbers. He indeed is!" Kiotak didn't know that last one for fact but presumed and hoped that he would be proved right.

Kiotak's naked threat made an impression on the raiders. The anger rising in the head of Loluri was evident for everyone to see and hear – she stuttered with agitation! "But punishment… has to be… exacted… somehow! I must… I have to… make sure that those Lone Tree people get what they rightly deserve!"

Norm voiced his support for Kiotak. "You may well be right about that but blood vengeance isn't the best way. Rather go to the Barren Lands federal council and present Your grievances, bring along an experienced talker ('So to say an attorney' Norm thought to himself.) if You don't feel up to arguing Your case for them. I am fully confident that in the end justice is going to be served."

Kiotak picked up where he had left off. "Look around You, Loluri! Watch Your comrades-in-arms and tell me if You really think they are likely to face off with the might of Toruk Makto! Looks to me like more than a few of them are losing their cool already… So back off before You commit some mistake You will come to regret in the not so distant future!"

Loluri took a quick glance among her raiding party partners and saw that Kiotak wasn't very far off the mark. She made an angry face and clenched her fists but said little, apparently fuming with impotent rage.

Norm now took on his academic, so to say professor-like, shape. "I now propose that we make use of this conflict to demonstrate to all clans in the hereabouts how we na'vi solve such conflicts the more beneficial way. Back to Your Kenuti clan at Myomyo Land You go, Loluri, and ask the tribal and federation councils to send talkers along with a Kenuti talker over to the Barren Land federation council, to discuss how to solve this grievance and mend fences.

It took a whole week before Jake arrived, along with his faithful satellite Neytiri. "Norm, I really do hope for your own sake that you have some problem that sincerely does require my and Neytiri's presence! My schedules are full to the brim as always, to get here we had to postpone a lecture in ceremonialism at the Namana Royal Academy and Tsailoni had to stand in for me at the naming of a new adviser to the Great Peace Council in trading to come here! And in a week we have to go to mediate in a quarrel between the Northern Land and the Feo federations for the Minuki islander clan, that clan which can't make up its mind which federation to join."

"I am sorry, we feared the worst when those raiders came, we feared that we would need the prestige of Toruk Makto to avert a full scale war between the federations of Barren Land and Myomyo Land. Didn't turn out that bad, thank Eywa! So now you two can sit back and watch how well a negotiation meeting to resolve a conflict between those two opponents is turning out, you can now intervene with the prestige of your toruk makto status you have if the debate gets bogged down. The idea to call you was Kiotar's but I am fully in line with him on this point."

The conflict resolution meeting was convened shortly after, the participants from abroad had arrived while Jake had been on the way. The meeting had ten participants: A representative from the clans, tribes and federations involved, a moderator from a neutral federation and a witness from each of the aggrieved clans – one of them was Loluri. Evidences were presented from both sides with passion, the misery that had made the Lone Tree clan go at the raid was described in emotional terms and so was the havoc the Lone Tree raiders had wrought. Those from the Lone Tree clan didn't fail to respond with grievances of their own and of course a famine was given as a motivator – leading to indignant replies that in so case they should have asked for emergency assistance rather than sending out a plunder raid!

Negotiations went on and on, both parties were mindful that the famed Toruk Makto Jakesully was present and as was common knowledge, he wasn't one to trifle with so better not whip up trouble…! Norm and Kiotak had the distinct impression that this realization worked to remind the participants that the negotiations simply had to find a solution satisfactory to both parties.

Finally, the differences were ironed out. One from the Lone Tree clan went to work for two years at the Kenuti clan as penance for the raid, in return the Lone Tree clan would in return have back a newly trained clan member, now with insight in superior hunting, gathering and fishing practices. It was left to the Lone Tree clan to find out whom to appoint to this task, if this one showed promise he or she would be sent to the tribe school of hunting, alternatively of gathering or fishing. In short he or she would be educated in how the Barren Islanders could avoid famines for the future. Later on this trained expert could be named leader of his craft and form a school for such people at Barren Lands…

Norm and Kiotak sat in the second row and together with Jake beheld the negotiations and how they turned out. Thus could the needed cultural developments be introduced at Barren Lands with a minimum of transitional pain for the Barren Lands people.

"Good success, Norm! I did have a certain notion that my presence at these dealings had a beneficial effect after all. So now Neytiri and me will at once go to Feo Land, to preside over the border delineation between this new federation and the Northern. Starting now we will have but a day to rest before those negotiations are to get started."

"You can probably take consolation that this busy period is probably soon to come to an end, when all federations are well established. And then, how about a well earned phenomenon from Earth for you – why don't you and Neytiri go for a 'vacation' for two or three weeks? To Western Islands may be or somewhere else rather far off, you would be a most welcome guest wherever you show up! You two haven't taken many days off the last years so you both richly deserve it, Jake and Neytiri! Tsailoni and his mate Terimiri is probably well able to handle your tasks day-to-day, or what do you think?" Norm uttered the term "vacation" in English for the idea that anyone could simply make themselves absent from society to take rest from daily chores for quite some time was alien to the Na'vi, there was no term in the Na'vi language for this English word. Being absent to take rest for an hour or two, or may be a whole day, that was readily understood by all Na'vi. But for weeks on end?

"I have heard worse ideas, Norm!"

"What was it Norm said, ma'Jake? A va-kei-shon?" Neytiri of course didn't understand the term but she soon grasped the content of it.

The notion had an appeal to it, however. When the hectic period of federation establishments etc. ran out and times calmed down again, the two of them went for four weeks of resting time to the Marakxali islanders and were received most courteously there. It was a time of wonderful relaxation. Tsailoni and his mate got their turn with a vacation when Jake and Neytiri finally returned. Not without effect – when Naraporn returned from her expedition to Earth, having given evidence at the court trial of the leadership of New RDA some months after Jake's and Neytiri's return back to everyday work, Neytiri was visibly pregnant with their number three. The product of the time of relaxation was in the end little Sa'aw, one day the playmate and later on, when he had come of age as historian and successor to Atanzau, the mate of the little girl Naraporn finally begat, Kxikat.


	3. Quenching a Rebellion

**Rescuing a Federation in Danger of Breaking up**

Having subdued and then convinced the clans at Southern Land to establish their own federation under the Pandora-wide umbrella of Nawm Fpom Lawk'us, The Great Peace Council (literally translated: Grand Peace Talking), all of Pandora had been enrolled in the political structure Jake and his councillors had built up. But erecting a building is one thing, maintaining it is something else. Keeping up can sometimes be as wearisome as building something, and this experience Jake was to experience in full.

Since the Sky People had been thrown off the world of Pandora with the eviction of New RDA and wasn't likely to reappear at once, and local strife between clans had been brought under control, some clans began having trouble with feeling any need for the allegiance with tribe and federation, ultimately with the Great Peace Council. Jake could accept a large degree of that, all the inventions he had presented were intended for one thing: The survival of the Na'vi society and culture as it was, disunity an important part of it. But when clans failed to accept decisions of higher levels, stopped sending their offspring to schools and tried to force through their desires in the face of decisions, then something was amiss.

When such cases occurred in his own Namana Land Federation, he tried to sweet-talk the disagreement away, to exhort the troublemakers to return to the fold, to show off his support from other tribes and federations. He avoided pitting force against those clans, and sometimes tribes, whenever he could, and in those cases a display of pomp & circumstance with a parade of warriors marching in rank would mostly do, or sometimes with threat implied, or spoken out aloud if needed be, would mostly do the trick. Actual blood letting was rare in the extreme. When he was invited to mediate such disagreements among other federations he was even more circumspect, he took utmost care in not infringing on the ownership of another federation of the conflict.

But try as he might, it wasn't always possible to avoid all divisive conflict. Jake came to appreciate the wisdom of Norm who had said that such a community of independent federations was the most that the Na'vi society could be expected to accept.

Jake was sitting and discussing with some crafts grand masters when the messenger asked for with him. So Jake rose and faced the messenger, a male from Nongona Land apparently.

"Honoured leader, I'm bringing word from the Nongona Federation leader. We are having trouble with a restive clan, and the tribe leadership in concern hasn't been able to talk them into their senses either. Finally, it is evident that this clan has sympathies among other clans of the tribe too, so the federation isn't keen on intervening into the disagreement either. So we ask for the mediation of Toruk Makto."

Jake requested details about the disagreement and was given this story.

The Ngafatx'a clan, living at some small islands just offshore the nortwestern coast of Nongona Land and the adjacent mainland, was a powerful clan, easily assembling a number of weaker mainlander clans under their control. This coterie of lord clan and vassal clans made a ready made tribe when the reorganization was arranged after the end of the Long War, together with a few middling inlander clans. The warriors of this tribe had a fearsome reputation, on land, sea and in air. They were in other words hardly a force ripe for intimidation. That the Ngafatx'a olo'eytkan Nemetar revelled in his newfound superior status was a plain understatement… He wasn't too keen on enforcing the demands of the Federation leaders at talking sense to his clanspeople – certainly not as long as he had the sympathy of the fourteen other clans of the Nortwestern Coastal tribe.

Fact was anyhow that the Ngafatx'a clan had come into rivalry with the Txaumpa clan of the Central West Coastal tribe over a river teeming with fish, also the Txaumpa clan wanted to declare the sea off the river mouth a wildlife sanctuary. Bitterness had raged for a long time and the establishment of the Nongona Federation did little to assuage it. In the end the federation leaders had despaired with talking sense to the unruly clan that also whipped up unrest among other clans of the tribe.

"… So You see, Toruk Makto, this clan is a boil in the whole body of our federation. If we can't mend this hole in this weave that is this federation, it might well totally unravel. With their traditional vassals and newfound tribal partners they are too strong to simply defeat in battle without horrendous bloodshed. This is why we have requested the assistance of Toruk Makto." So said Makatna, kifike'eytkan at Nongona Land.

Two days after Jake arrived with all the magnificence he could arrange, having had messengers announce his advent the day before. Along with him Norm, Jeff, Atanzau, Neytiri and other members of his staff followed. Tsailoni, his n-i-c, had been left behind to manage the Namana federation while he was absent himself. Jake and his entourage were welcomed in the utmost polite way but with an obvious notion of cold formality.

After formalities Jake, Makatna and Nemetar got down to business. And to say that Nemetar was restive was a gross understatement.

"We see no reason that our demand for that river and that fishing bank is to be refused. It is a question of living or starvation to our clan – and other clans in the tribe too. So we are not going to back down, if we have to we are ready to put martial power behind our demand. Seriously!"

Makatna protested: "The Txaumpa olo'eytkan has said that this river isn't for giving away, not in its entirety at least. And that fishing bank is a vital breeding ground for the river muddiers, any fishing there must in so case be under rigid management, simpler to let it totally be. So they say, and having investigated the case the federation fishing leader agreed with them."

Nemetar was intransigent: "We simply refuse to believe what you say. Canoes full of warriors are waiting for anyone attempting to refuse our demand for harvesting the river and the bank! And don't try to serve me one more horror story that we need to stick together lest the Tawtute descend on us! I never saw any of them, the purported horrible effect of their weaponry, and their treachery. Making those stories hard to believe for me. Anyhow they are all gone from Pandora now, so there is plainly no more any need for defending against them."

The glowing spots in Makatna's face dimmed completely, displaying his anger. "You skxawng! I do know what sawtute are able to, my brother was present when olo'eyktan Mut'upx was killed by their eyktan, and my mate has a cousin who was seriously maimed at the Battle for Tu'kutx Island. So would you call down the rage of all the federation on your head! We have the power to roll over you and shovelling up your remains…"

Jake intervened at this point, using a term he remembered from his dimming English language. "Whoa, both of you! Violence is never the best way if at all avoidable! We take five minutes off to cool down before we set about further negotiations."

They walked away from the assembly ground and a short way into the forest. While there Jake and Makatna heard a soft whisper from the undergrowth. "Psst! In here please!"

Creeping into the bushes they met a woman with the criminal catcher's black hairband. "I am Ti'hama, assistant criminal catcher of the Ngafatx'a clan. I can tell you that among the people of the clan opinions are not so unanimous behind Nemetar has he is claiming. Quite a few regard him as an adventurer, risking the welfare of the clan. But he is a ruthless guy, if he get the whiff of this conversation I probably won't get much older."

Jake replied: "Interesting stuff! How is his srung nkxi eyktan (his assistant leader) – in it along with him or secretly opposed to him? Other clans?"

"The traditional vassal clans are obedient and will out of old tradition follow the wind. The three inlander clans once upon a time independent are as divided as the Ngafatx'a clan. The srung nkxi'eytkan Wama'eni is a hand-picked one, a weak mind easily swayed by the strong personality of Nemetar. But the olo'eytkan Zizipx, who took over the clan when Nemetar was promoted, is a clever one, he is toeing the line of Nemetar artfully but he is likely to convert to a smarter line if opportunity for it should arise…"

A thoughtful glance came over Jake. "I want more. We need a complete picture of sympathies and antipathies in the tribal leadership concerning obeying demands from the federation council."

Ti'hama got a concerned expression in her face. "The councillors are in equal parts overawed by Nemetar's rhetorics and frightened by his ruthlessness. There are rumours that councillors and crafts eyktan of other clans who have expressed their dismay with him have suddenly disappeared. It is hard to tell inclinations to him, he rules through an efficient clan and tribe administration, sometimes on the cost of other tribes. He is an able orator and he isn't averse to buying silence from those who insist on protesting, or using intimidation if protesters can't be silenced with persuasion or gifts. He has many informers around, giving him names and what they have said, allowing him to take measures against special persons, for instance by initiating slandering campaigns against them. And rumours told in secret are saying that if he can't have it like he wants it in any other way, he is willing to take to far worse remedies."

Jake concluded: "Nemetar is in other words a classical case like there have been many horror stories about at Earth, a dictator. Removing such powerful people is never painless but it has to be done, otherwise he could worm his way up to the federation leadership itself with time, and Eywa help all of Nongona Land then! So it has to be done somehow. He must be removed before he gets to do more serious mischief, we'll now turn to discussing how."

Jake and his followers went to the Nongona Land federation council and sat down to talk. He assembled his entourage and the Nongona nawm eyktan, and they settled down with Makatna and his staff to discuss what now to do. The nawm singing eyktan was from the tribe in concern, she in other words couldn't be trusted about keeping shut about the topic of the day, so she was asked to go to make ready for the singing contest soon to be held.

Jake was given the cue by Makatna and rose. "Honoured grand ay'eyktan of the Nongona Land Federation! You have heard why Nemetar is a dangerous one in the leadership of the Nortwestern Coastal tribe. He has to be replaced, but he won't be for so long as he is in power, he has a way with words and knowledge of psyche that makes him immune to be deposed by his own. You who are in charge of the federation will have to do it, and do it soon for if unchecked he is likely to become ever more powerful and in the end threaten the whole federation. Believe me, I have seen his type at Earth while I was a tawtute warrior and the history of Earth have seen very many awful cases like him!"

Norm rose and concurred: "You may remember the song of Mahak and Pufut, there you have a warning of the same sort of person here at Pandora."

The assembly nodded and mumbled approvingly. Not all had heard the song from the Ikran clan of Namana Land before but all understood that a serious situation was at hand.

"So we have some options of how to do it. I can explain the advantages and risks of them all, leaving the choice to You.

Firstly, open war. You give them an ultimatum which they will refuse to budge from and then it is for the warriors to fight it out. This success of this war will probably be assured and then you will be in power to do with the tribe as you please. But it will be a bloody conflict and resentment will be ingrained among the defeated tribespeople, if Nemetar manages to flee and hide he could then reappear and take power back, to cause further trouble. It is not the alternative I recommend.

Secondly, boycott. If he refuse your ultimatum then all contact with the tribe can be put on hold. No trade nor any education for them, no healer for them to consult etc. The advantage is that it is a bloodless war – but the resentment will be the same and a war with bloodletting is likely all the same, just later on. And it will be hard to make the blockade watertight.

Thirdly, negotiations. You can negotiate with him and offer him what he wants in return for his cooperation later on. The advantage is peace – for now… The risk is that he will likely grow more powerful still, he might capture other tribes to his control still and become even more dangerous when you in the end have no alternative but to try putting a stop to him later on. He is ambitious and won't likely satisfy himself with the power he has captured for as long as he can strive for even more, always even more. So I won't recommend this alternative either.

Fourthly, a coup. This implies putting him and his steady sympathizers out of power by surprising them and then detaining them, thus allowing the clans and the tribe to held an succession vote without his influence present. This is my recommended measure since you will get rid of Nemetar and his followers if the action is successful. The details of this action I will explain your nawm tsamshiu eyktan (grand warrior leader) further if You decide for this action, since it will be something to plan for with great care."

The council deliberated for some time. Jake kept from in any way infringing on their sovereign right of decision. Finally Makatna rose from the decision circle and pronounced the decision: WE SAY COUP. GO FOR IT! Then Jake took Mawaki'ra apart, the grand warrior leader of the federation. He started going into details about the action plan with him but not before he had weeded out members of the Northwestern Coastal tribe from the guard of the federation, this unit was to be the strong arm of the coming action and a leak of the action plan to Nemetar was what they absolutely couldn't afford.

* * *

Nemetar was meanwhile sitting and discussing battle plans with Fafaltiri, his nkxi tsamshiu eyktan (i.e. tribal warrior mistress).

"If the federation decides to put power behind their demand for us to budge, we are in big trouble militarywise, boss! We will have few if any chances to victory!"

"This may be so but what my informer at the council are saying – I have other sources available than just our representative at the council, you see… – is that they are unlikely to let it come to the level of nocked arrows. They will most probably give in, we can let the Txaumpa clan have some fishing rights up the river so we can have the more lucrative fisheries downriver. That will be a beneficial compromise for everyone. And it will be a significant propaganda victory, my agents are active in other tribes. The Uplands tribe at the river headwaters are balancing in sympathies, with such a propaganda victory we can probably attract them to our side and then the Northern Plains tribe north of them will probably join them soon. With three tribes in our support we will be able to stand our ground against the rest of the federation with reasonable chance for success. Three tribes versus sixteen means no automatic success. And we'll probably win more tribes still over to our side before the inevitable showdown is to take place."

Then, all of a sudden, a messenger broke into the conversation. "A message from our female in the cooking and serving staff at the federation council is here. It is urgent and can't wait!" "Speak up!" "She couldn't get the details but they are about to try to capture you Nemetar and your supporting ay'eyktan and put you away, to ask the clans and the tribe to appoint some successor to you and your councillors! Take care!" Nemetar then said: "We sure will!"

Nemetar turned to Fafaltiri and told her: "We can turn this attempt of theirs into a massive failure and a magnificent propaganda victory for us. Ask the warriors to assemble around me but hidden in the forest in the vicinity! So when they arrive to take us then our warriors can descend on them and smash them. We capture the leader – may be even Makatna himself – and then we can press them to abide with our demands even more completely!"

"But boss, Toruk Makto Jakesully is probably the inspiration to their plan. May be he has arranged for some further surprise for us?"

"Hardly. They are not aware of our knowledge of their coming in force. So get started with preparing the 'welcome'! Get non-combatants out of the way and our warriors in position! On my battle yell they attack!"

But Nemetar was in for a surprise. No big force landed, only a "talker" (i.e. diplomat) from the federation council who had a following of recorders (i.e. archive keepers) and fishing experts. The federation guard, led by Mawaki'ra himself and with Jake among them, had already landed at a distance from the kelutrel (home tree) and sneaked in on the kelutrel, they were watching the diplomatic envoy team at a distance. Jake had been riding his ikran, not his all too conspicuous toruk.

Jake's warrior instinct sounded alarm when he saw the kelutrel from his hiding in the thicket. "I can see nobody there but Nemetar and his councillors, no civilians in sight! Very peculiar! Something is wrong! I suspect that they somehow know we are coming and are waiting to come down on us when we call at the council ground. Now everything depends on Fpey'tey to do his task. Ask the guard warriors to be ready for defending against attack from the environs of the kelutrel!" The whispered order went out.

Named talker walked over to the council and declared his task. "I have been tasked by the federation council to ask this tribe to reconsider their decision about fishing rights. So I ask the council and leaders to divide, those in favour of obeying the federation's council vote should leave the discussion circle so that I and my followers can discuss in details with those who resist."

Three councillors and one crafts leader rose and left the circle, and they walked straight for they ay'ikran to get away from the coming ire of Nemetar they knew would be imminent.

"Now you see Nemetar, your tribe isn't completely unanimous in support of your opposition to the federation. You should may be speak your words with some more care further on?"

Nemetar could feel his temper rise against this little insolent talker, who dared to come almost alone. But he was protected by the Na'vi code of hospitality and so not to be touched. His words betrayed his anger, however: "No way! We must hang on to our fisheries and no question about it! I saw who the cowards were who fell out of our ranks, they will be apprehended immediately afterwards!" He turned to Fafaltiri and gave her an order: "Go get some olo'kumpongu and tell them to get those absconders on the double, and have them brought here!" "Yes, boss!" And she rose from the circle and to the edge of the forest, and whistled. Some warriors came out of the thicket, she told them their orders and they set out.

Hidden in the undergrowth Jake and Mawaki'ra saw that two ay'olo'kumpongu (each some fifty warriors and roughly equal to a company) came out from the vicinity of the kelutrel and took to the air in pursuit of the leaders and councillors who took off. He glanced at Mawaki'ra and said: "Now we know approximately where they are all hidden in wait for us, and we know that they are significantly weakened in numbers. The opportunity won't get any better than this, Mawaki'ra! Action!"

So all of a sudden a flute sounded, the guard warriors descended in force out of their hiding, looking very martial in their full panoply. The sight of some two hundred and fifty battle-hardened warriors coming walking with forceful strides was an intimidating thing to behold. Fafaltiri did as she was supposed to and gave her battle yell in alarm, and was instantly felled by an arrow in her belly. Nemetar rose up and watched with astonishment. Then the warriors of his own who had been lying in wait came running yelling and firing arrows, and were mowed down by the guard warriors standing at the ready.

Nemetar watched his trap snap into action but with insufficient effect, the absence of the warriors he had sent off to pursue the dissenters had fatally weakened the power of the trap. The guard warriors were tough, he had underestimated the worth of their training and discipline, and they were prepared for the trap – his battle plan lay in ruins at the floor of the kelutrel meeting ground.

So Nemetar did like the rest of his council and leadership, he ran for his life. But up at the ikran roost the head hunters of the federation had already taken up position, their escape had been blocked. So they sat down on the ground in defeat and surrender. End of the battle was twenty guard warriors dead and thirty common warriors, plus two councillors and two ay'eyktan, one of them Fafaltiri.

* * *

Nemetar was brought to the Ngafatx'a kelutrel and an assembly was held. The verdict was clear as day, he had exceeded his authorities as a clan and tribal leader, taking the tribe out on adventurous and doomed politics. The conviction was equally clear, he had to resign from his eyktan status and be reduced to a common hunter, with an ignominous tattoo on his chest barring him from any office for ever more. Furthermore, evidence came up how he had safeguarded his power, with a terror regime and unlawful executions – burial places of his victims were revealed by warriors intent on saving their own skin. A demand for his life was screamed by the clanspeople but the new olo'eyktan didn't want more bloodshed, so the verdict was upheld for him – but his son lost his srung nkxi'eyktan rank…

The rest of his staff got it lighter, they were demoted to commoners and little more. Fafaltiri, who had been his chief henchwoman was dead already and couldn't be punished any more. The councillors and leaders who had left the ring and thus precipitated the defeat, were reinstated in their dignities when they were brought back by the pursuing warriors – those warriors were highly astonished to find out that those fugitives were named heroes when they came back with them!

Among the other clans' leaderships and councils a similar shuffle came. Many councillors at tribal level who had come away scot free were not equally lucky at the clan level. But there were pretty few who would admit that they had ever been in active support of Nemetar's regime, most insisted that they had been under the spell of his oratory and living in fear of his terror. Still some had obviously been far to involved in his regime to escape consequences. Nunguekx, the cook at the federation council who had been Nemetar's spy was brought to pay for her espionage too, she excused herself with having a family as his hostages. And any following he had had among other tribes vanished of course as dew in the morning sun too.

Afterwards Jake was roundly thanked by the Nongona Land federation council for his mentoring of the action that had taken down Nemetar and his regime. The coup d'etat that Jake had envisioned didn't completely work out as such and the shoot-out had been bloody, but the result had been benevolent after all, Nemetar and all his ilk had been removed from the Nongona Land political equation. The Nongona Land federation had been rescued from a crisis that could have become grave if it had been allowed to fester.


	4. Disaster Relief

Disaster Relief

Jake heard the name Awkey'nun first time when he was told whom had been elected for the leadership of the recently formed Gargoylefish kifi'ke. At the time it was just an item in a long list of non-descript names, "I'll surely learn to know him better in time." That was the total of his thougths about him at the time. In a way he was right about that – he would come to know him far better with time. Which was a pity. For Jake would one day five years later have his hands full with the guy.

For kifi'ke eyktan Awkey'nun and the leaders behind him showed to be not the boon of his federation but its perennial Achilles' heel. Jake came to know him as an underhand, prickly and short-tempered man, he was absolutely devoid of diplomatic sense of tact and timing, and intellectually he was completely in the hands of his advisors and his council. As competence went he was a passable clan leader but hardly more. His two good points was his stylish manner and his ability to keep his hands off the intelligent decisions of his advisers.

Norm pondered: "When he is such a bungler, tell me why he has been elected for his high office? And why hasn't he been deposed by the Council or called home by his clan or tribe when he has demonstrated his incompetence?"

Neytiri then had a chance to explain him some real world politics at Pandora. "I have had chats with women over there. They say that there are quite a few who are dissatisfied with him – and even more are actually satisfied with the situation they way it is. He has a reputation for being an abrasive personality but also a weak personality easily swayed by knowledgable talking. He mostly lets the tribes and the clans have their ways, many are happy with that. Many of his own clanspeople are simply happy to be rid of him, a more able guy has taken over his old job. And there are many of his clans people who are proud of seeing one of their own elevated to high prestige."

Norm shook his head. "Astonishing that they are happy with such a zero at the top. But a stylish figurehead at the top with an able government should still be a workable system, it worked for hundreds of years in a federation at Earth called Great Britain."

Neytiri smiled and concurred. "Indeed. The thought has come to me that Jake, with his display when the Sky People at Gargoyle Fish Land surrendered, made such an impression at the clans of the land that they elected their own pale imitation of Jake to be at their head. In any case the system can work until a great crisis occur which will test the ability of the leadership to take hard political decisions."

Of course such a crisis did have to occur sooner or later. For it isn't always sufficient to administrate a comfortable status quo.

Out in open sea, southeast of Gargoyle Fish Land, lay a small, uninhabited island of volcanic origin. The island was mostly barren due to its frequent eruptions but now it had kept quiet for many generations. But then one day an eruption came that made up for the long silence – a mega eruption! A whole cliffside was plunged into sea and a twenty meter high tsunami rose. It had dissipated to half the power when it struck land but that was plenty still, given the flat coastlines.

Many clans of various federations came to feel the devastating wave but many had taken precautions – evacuation organization, relief stores etc. At Gargoyle Fish Land such preparations happened to be weak so the devastations were by far worst there. And the devastation was truly horrendous, in scale of course. More than two thousand lives were lost when the seas washed over the coastline, thirteen clans were directly affected.

Bad as the disaster was, what came afterwards was even worse. Law and order among the directly affected clans collapsed completely and those clans simply fell apart. Survivors did like na'vi always were likely to do after natural catastrophes, they migrated away from the disaster area, and since whole clans were broken the refugees took in among other clans, setting off immediate crisis among them too – they had seen destructions too, had little food to spare and sometimes had old aversions towards those coastal clans. In all, law and order now hung in a precarious balance among fifteen clans more, the danger loomed for a "domino-effect" engulfing ever more clans in strife and infighting.

Conflict was bitter even among the normally very peaceful Gargoyle Fish people. Their anger were directed against other clans but mainly upward against the tribal leadership, most of all the federation leadership who had made no preparations for the event of this disaster, and moreover now was in a state of political – administrative paralysis. The Marakxali and Atoll islanders simply took the affairs in their own hands and began a relief effort on their own, and sent emissaries to the Namana federation and others since none were sent from the Gargoyle Fish federation. Those warriors did what they could but the situation was worse than they could hope to overcome on their own, they had to spend as much time with maintaining law and order as with handing out assistance.

The emissaries came to the Tree of Souls and presented their distress in glowing terms, the representative from the Gargoyle Fish federation wanted to take it up for debate, visibly more than a little irritated by being bypassed thus. But Jake was in the vicinity, at his own Omatikaya hometree, he got wind of their story and intervened personally. "This situation is too dangerous to waste time with a lengthy debate at the Great Peace Council. We have to deal with it immediately. I'll call in some other federation leaders and we take on the problem at once. We may eventually have a political outcome from the Great Peace Council, when this arrives we will already have saved lives and livings. What seems certainly to be beyond doubt is that the federation leadership isn't up to the task, we will have to intervene, with force if needed be."

Two days after the Northern, Western Island, Southern, Nongona and the Panalwy federation east of Gargoyle Fish Land had arrived and they were deep into discussion with Jake about what to and how to do. Jake said: "To me it is obvious that they need a broad assistance. We need to send in warriors to enforce calm, they can hunt too and they can distribute needed assistance. Navy people must join the warriors, fishing is needed and they can join in distribution and law enforcement too. We must bring along priestesses, to officiate many, many funerals. Craftspeople must come too, probably many of the tools they need for their everyday life have disappeared and need to be remade. We better start immediately, fine-tuning can come later."

That same afternoon a Namana kumpongu took to the wings and the navymen paddled out, to form the vanguard of the relief effort since the Namana Land was closest. Jake knew that speed was essential, so he instantly went to the federation council of the Gargoyle Fish Land along with Neytiri, and he told them:

"Honoured kifi'ke eyktan Awkey'nun of the Gargoyle Fish federation, I am Jakesully the 6th toruk makto and kifi'ke eyktan of the Namana federation. On behalf of some federation leaders who have decided to come to your assistance in your time of need after that great disaster, I now speak up for You. We have had reports that relief effort has been seriously hampered by a serious breakdown of public order, so pull your acts together and calm things down around in the hometrees. You will most probable have a similar message from the Great Peace Council in some time, but in relief action time is essential. It is known to us that the Atoll Islanders and the Marakxali have on their own initiative got an effort going, they need assistance! If you can't make this we will come to take care of things on our own!"

Neytiri meanwhile had chats with some leading women of the federation, she found out that discontent with Awkey'nun's style of leading was present in the innermost parts of the leadership. Not even his very own mate, tsahik Ngowai, was afraid of telling her mind. "I have told him repeatedly that he has to retire if he can't make the grand masters do as he intends. All right that they have a say in the implementation of decisions and they should protest if he should come down with a proposition that clearly is unsound but they can't be allowed to strangle every one political initiative! He risks an uprising putting all of us at risk!"

Jake and in time his colleagues too searched all over the federation leadership for some force of substantial political drive. Srung kifi'ke eyktan – Kokwu showed to be a stylish nonentity too, he was neither arrogant nor was he short tempered but he showed nervous symptoms and it was said that he had a tendency to easily break down when things got frantic. Kifi'ke tsamshiu eyktan Ke'tsutsu was getting old and his creativity was wearing thin, he was good at drilling warriors but in times of crisis he was helpless. Other grand masters were able people but most of them had a myopic interest for their own sector, they were only too happy to put blame on someone else.

And the federation council which was invested with the power to depose leaders and grand masters? This body was found to be a forum for grandstanding, polite quarrels and very little political control. Jake and his colleagues came to the conclusion that a major renovation of Gargoyle Fish politics had to come.

Kurulan from the Southern federation took the word and declared in his peculiar dialect: "Dis feddereishon nids houl nyu top lidership. Vi must teik inishativ tu get dem dis, in te prezent sityoeishon dei hav nou pauer tu meik it on deir oun. Let os gou tu itsh traib tu si if dei ar brouken tu, if dei ar den gou tu deir klans. Hav dem faind nyu liders for te bad oans, an den tell dem tu send nyu pipel tu feddereishon lidership."

They all agreed with Kurulan and agreed to assign the Northern federation's present leader, who happened to be a namesake of Jake's mother-in-law, the task to tell Awkey'nun their stark decision.

"Honoured leaders of the Gargoyle Fish federation! It is the opinion of us leaders who have come to your aid in this your critical time, and on whose expressed behalf I am now speaking, that it has become far more serious than it had to be due to your demonstrated inferior leadership. That is, bad preparations for a crisis that _could_ come to happen, and bad relief organization of your own after the crisis situation was a fact. We have therefore initiated a move among the tribes and clans of the federation to have named a new leadership of tainted tribes and clans, and ultimately for the whole federation. Some of you will probably be reappointed but many of you will surely be called home. This will come and it must come, the security of our world is at stake. You can start with accepting it for fact: Your time at the helm is at end."

Being served truth in this uncompromising style grated. Many argued for resisting, with force if needed be, but the grand warrior master Ke'tsutsu asked them to stop thinking about that. "Remember that the 'enemy' is already all around the land and is in contact with prominent people in tribes and clans. Some tribes will probably resist them but then they will go to their constituent clans and among them they will find even more disgruntled people. We are tottering already and can't take one heavy assault more. Also remember that the clans in our federation with warrior traditions worth speaking about, the Marakxali and the Atoll Islanders, are likely to fall squarely down at the side of the 'enemy', so we mainlanders have in other words very little force to put against them."

And in the evening the news came from the Tree of Souls that the Great Peace Council had managed to hurry a vote, its declaration was essentially the same as Mo'at te Ang'ang Teya'tsu'ite had spoken, only formulated in more diplomatic terms. The morning after a couple of the more junior members of the federation council announced that they were now leaving back to their clans, to get started with their "election campaigns". Most of the council members and the advisers resigned themselves with their destinies, the bodies showed early symptoms of incipient decay.

Jake and his allies established headquarter in the centre of the crisis zone, in full awareness that they were now the real powerful might of the Gargoyle Fish federation. They sent out warriors all around to alleviate misery and reestablish public order. And the warriors struck down riots ruthlessly, with food in the left hand and bows in the right, order quickly reappeared. Hot on the heels of the warriors healers came to care for the wounded – Nick Dixon the former psychologist avatar was one of them – and priests to conduct proper funerals for deceased victims. Behind them came craftspeople, starting with fashioning tools lost in the disaster.

Finally political agents came who conducted assemblies in clans that could be called together somehow. As always the leaders named where given their tasks for their lifetimes, but promotions to higher level, scandals that forced them to retire by impeachment and voluntary retirement due to age or sickness would normally occur before natural death. Then the necessary changes were likewise organized among the tribes. In the end the political rebuilding process came up to the federation council, the recently appointed councillors met, proposed candidates for the top jobs and made their decisions.

The relief force's leaders took a look at the status report when the process came to end. Only two of the eight tribes – those two in which the Marakxali and the Atoll Islanders were members – got away without any replacements at all. Otherwise there were more or less reform everywhere, the two southeastern tribes which had been hardest struck by the tsunami were reformed from top to bottom. But three clans had been so heavily smashed that the surviving refugees had been completely absorbed by other clans, they were now absent from their tribal council.

Given the wholesale replacement at lower level it came as a surprise to not so many that none of the grand masters and only one of the federation councillors were reaffirmed in their jobs – he was a Marakxali… Awkey'nun had by then already retired to make a graceous sorti and so did his assistant Kokwu. Jake saw that Neytiri was standing side by side with the now retired tsahik Ngowai at the ceremony and he saw a coy little smile in her face, Jake saw many glances exchanged between the two ay'tsahik. "Must have been many chats between those two I never heard about…" he thougth to himself. OK, if those informal chats had greased the painful process then so be it.

The relief leaders decided to ask the Nongona federation leader to give greetings to the departing leadership and the coming. The old, departing ones were thanked for their good efforts and, pointedly, given thanks for providing na'vi with a good demonstration why able people were needed at the top too… And the new and coming ones were wished good luck with taking over their demanding and responsible work. Who knew, their similar assistance might one day be needed?

Political order having been reestablished in the Gargoyle Fish federation, the relief givers made ready for leaving. But advisers were left to give the new and rather unexperienced leadership intelligent tips. Back home Jake and his team partners went to the Soul Tree and reported for the Great Peace Council, saying that the effort had given useful experience in how to direct a large scale relief effort, not the least in the cases when public order had been seriously weakened. Norm hinted at naming him "saviour of the Gargoyle Fish federation" but then Jake said: "No Norm. In this action I have been just a common member of a team."


	5. A Blue Skinned Crime Story

A Blue-skinned Crime Story

The news struck like a bomb among the advisers of Jake: An Amananga man had drifted dead ashore close to the fishing bank the Amananga often had quarreled with the Sunara about, with a stab down his throat to his heart. The thought was easily imagined: A quarrel for fishing, ending with a fistfight and then a knife duel. "That might be a rather simplistic conclusion…" mused Jeff Enright, Jake's prime military adviser. Turning over to Lazafnu, olo'eyktan of the Amananga, he added: "I have this little hunch that the easy solution might not be the correct one here."

So he went to the Namana federation council and asked them to provide him with some able, young scouts to help him catch the real killer, whoever he might be. Norm had taught scouts how to read and write, useful for those who were to find culprits.

Jeff and Jake had no more experience with crime investigation than most people, but having read many crime novels and seen many TV-series at Earth had explained them some basics and their background in the (Royal or US) Marines had taught them some practical, logical assessment of situations. But in practical terms the task naturally fell to Jeff, Jake had his timetable as full of duties as could be already. He at once asked some healers to study the dead body.

So when Jeff rose from the breakfast meal the day after, five ambitious scouts were waiting for him, the boys Keywol'tsu and Ma'tey, and the girls Peywat, Nama'pi and Beyla. He looked them up and down, and said: "We have a case of a murder committed by an unknown. It is simple to assume that it must have been part of the age old feud with the Sunara but it might not be quite so simple. The one of you who gives me the best assistance with finding the guilty one will be named master criminal catcher of the federation and be specially trained for this office. Now I want you to present yourselves, why this career is interesting to you."

Peywat was a tall and wiry one, she declared: "I am an Amananga too, Tey'au was my cousin and his real killer, for sure a Sunara, must be brougth to pay for his crime!" "Note to self: She is hardly the one for me!" Jeff thougth to himself. She gave way to an athletic young man named Keywol'tsu.

"I am from the Mountain clan, I got my own ikran eight days ago. I like to assist with catching people disturbing the peace of the land!" "Note to self: More of a police constable type than a detective!" was the thought that struck Jeff.

Then Nama'pi came to the front, she was a small but robust looking girl. "I am coming from the Tskaha clan, I am more or less finish with my scout training, daddy has said that I will be going to get my own ikran in some few days or so. Daddy is a scouting master, it is a family tradition to find lost things." "Note to self: Looking more promising!" Jeff thought.

It was the turn of Ma'tey, a huge man, probably the oldest of the candidates. "Mine is the Green Cliff clan, it sounds exciting to me to direct a hunt where the game is a na'vi, it will probably entail lots of interesting stuff like tracking, hunting team organization and presence of mind." "Note to self: Looking good too!"

Finally Beyla took the stage, she was a small, anonymous-looking sort, she was absolutely not a flashy looking girl but she had a knowing eye and a taciturn yet thoughtful way of speaking, Jeff had an impression that there were ten thoughts behind every spoken word. "I am from the River clan. Mummy has told me it sometimes happens that people disappear without trace, that things are stolen or vandalized, it is rare but it should be the task of someone to deal with it." "Note to self: Here is the main contender for the job!" Jeff thought.

Jeff now got started: "One or may be two of you will be named crime-stopping eyktan, which of you it will be depend on how well you solve the problems I will give you. First problem is coming now. Peywat: Go and have a talk with his family, did he behave funny in any way the last days before he was killed? Did he say that there was something on his mind? Keywol'tsu: Try to find the canoe he paddled out to go fishing, if you find it then take it back here but don't do anything with it, there may be important clues to it! Nama'pi: Go and have a talk with people in his clan and in nearby clans, what was his reputation? He may have been involved in affairs his family didn't know about. Ma'tey: Go to Jakesully and inform him that we now have started the investigation. Also, he may know something we do not. Beyla: Go and have a talk with the healers I asked to study the dead body, what have they found out about it. Afterwards all of you come back to me and we'll see what we have found out."

They all went eagerly to their assigned tasks and Jeff settled down with other things on his agenda. They came back at dinnertime to give report. "You first, Peywat!"

"Well, for starters the name of the victim was Tey'au te Amananga Kolo'tey'itan, of an old and respectable clan family. I have had talks with his family members. He didn't give any impression of being more than normally anxious the last days but the day before he disappeared he told his brother that someone was stealing from his fish weirs. His brother immediately proposed that some Sunaras were making "funny business" again but he said that he didn't think so, they would have put out their own fishing gear instead and not putting the weir back after emptying it. The thief even replaced the bait." "Well done, Peywat! Your turn Keywol'tsu!"

"I couldn't find his canoe but I met a guy who saw it drifting in the sea. He said that the paddle had disappeared and there were no fishing gear in it." "Good, Keywol'tsu! Over to you, Nama'pi!"

"He was known as a great egotist who wouldn't share his fishing grounds or explaining the construction of his highly effective weirs. Many were not fond of him but killing him – no! Furthermore an experienced fisher told me that his weirs were easily recognized by their construction, he built them so that a pin in the bottom could open it instantly. Most fishers of experence in the clan knew this." "Not bad, Nama'pi! Your turn Ma'tey!"

"Jake was grateful for keeping him informed. He couldn't add so very much but a Sunara told him that all the fishers of the clan were harpoon hunting for sea hammerheads that day. If any of the fishers had been absent they would clearly have seen it." "Nice, Ma'tey! And you, Beyla, what can you tell us?"

"The healers said that he had been dead for most of the day when they found him in the afternoon. The reason for his death was clearly a knife stab down his throat and straight to his heart. They dug out some of the food in his stomach and found out what he had eaten at breakfast, nothing out of the ordinary and certainly nothing poisonous or intoxicating either. But they noted one peculiar affair: The body can't have been in the water for very long for then small, hungry sea scavengers would start to take bites of the dead body and there were no such bite marks visible." "Very good Beyla!"

Jeff assembled them in front of him. "We now put together what we have learned so far. A fish poacher is stealing his catch but putting his weirs back where he took them, with baits replaced. What does that tell us?" Beyla: "Someone is envying him his fishing success and 'borrows' from his catch."

"His canoe was seen drifting in the sea without his weirs. What does that tell us?" Nama'pi: "The weirs have either been stolen or thrown away."

"He had a good many people who didn't like him – perhaps one more than just that? There may be a motive for killing here… mark that. His weirs are easily recognizable – do some thoughts strike you?" Ma'tey: "This can't be any experienced fisher, otherwise he would know that having one of those weirs would reveal him. Or he may be smart and hide them where none would find them."

"All the Sunara fishers busy elsewhere – some ideas out of that?" Keywol'tsu: "It is getting less likely that any Sunara is involved." Jeff took a small peep at Peywat and saw that she was getting agitated.

"He was dead for a long time before being dumped in the water. Your thoughts to this?" Beyla: "The body was lying all day dead in the canoe and was thrown to the sea not so long before it was found, it must have been the murderer who dumped the body because weather has been calm so no big waves should have thrown him out of his canoe.. The murder has taken place far away from the location where it was found, the body was dumped where it was to sway us into thinking that Sunaras must have done it. We are dealing with a smart one, he must be young and of not so much experience since he isn't aware of how simply those weirs can be recognized, and he must be a strong paddler since he has paddled far to dispose of the body."

Peywat then rose up abruptly. "Yes but somehow the Sunaras simply MUST be involved! It is simply so precisely like them!" Jeff turned at her and said with a calm voice: "All clues so far tell us that Sunaras are not involved, refusing to accept what clues tell us makes you unfit for the job I am looking to man. Doing a good job with interviewing people doesn't remedy that fact. You can go now, Peywat."

While Peywat now rose up and left them, Jeff turned back to the rest of them. "Here are your tasks for tomorrow. Keywol'tsu, try to locate Tey'au's secret fishing ground, are his weirs still there? Nama'pi, now it is your turn to go to Jake, may be he has got to hear something more by now. Ma'tey, go and listen among the Amananga fishers if he had some major disagreements with other fishers. Beyla, have a talk with the cooks, has anyone suddenly started bringing them lots of fish lately?"

At dinnertime the day after it was time to report again.

Keywol'tsu: "It wasn't simple to find his own, personal fishing ground but I found a fisher who had a hunch. We went out there and found a weir of his – a single one! The fisher recognized it as his, and he said that there ought to be eight weirs on a chain, seven missing in other words." "You have made a brilliant job! Now what did Jake say, Nama'pi?"

"Jake was still happy to be kept informed, yes he was. He didn't have anything to add though, nothing important at least." Jeff insisted: "But precisely what did he say?" "He had heard about a girl of the Ngaba'k clan (small fishing clan between the Sunara and the Amananga) who came down to the beach that day to find some sand for scouring pots, looking out to sea she saw two Amananga canoes race paddling." "Ummm. Your turn Ma'tey."

"He was often in quarrel with fishermen. Crude words, threatening fists. And once a fisherman yelled at him with an ambiguous term that might or might not be a veiled death threat." "Who?" An recently initiated Amananga fisher named Fpom'ukan." "Excellent work Ma'tey. And Beyla, what can you tell us?"

"Nobody has begun to catch a lot more fish but one fisher has begun to catch very good fish much quicker than before. Guess who? Fpom'ukan…" "Brilliant Beyla!"

Jeff now gave Nama'pi a gaze. "You seem to have ignored what may have been very important clue, it may have been Tey'au trying to escape his murderer just before he was killed… I must inform you that you are out of the competition Nama'pi, you can go." She rose up and left them.

Jeff looked at Keywol'tsu, Ma'tey and Beyla. "We now put together what we now have found out. Seven missing weirs of his very distinct type, any inference?" Beyla: "Finding such a weir in the possession of someone else will be a very strong clue."

"That Ngaba'k girl saw someone who may well have been the killer. Any comments?" Ma'tey: "That girl could identify the culprit."

"This guy Fpom'ukan was in a nasty quarrel with Tey'au some time before he disappeared. And he has become a main provider of good fish to the cooks. Your conclusion?" Beyla: "He looks to be our prime suspect. We should have a talk with him." Jeff smiled and noted her sense of logic.

"So here are problems for tomorrow. "Keywol'tsu, bring us Fpom'ukan. We need to interrogate him. Ma'tey, go to his own places and see if you can find the weirs of Tey'au there. Beyla, go to the Ngaba'k clan, find that witness and bring her here."

At dinnertime next day they all came back once again. Keywol'tsu looked depressed. "I came to the Amananga hometree, walked over to Fpom'ukan and asked him to come with me. He rose up and told me that he knew what I was up to. He then kicked me right in my stomach and ran to the forest." "Keywol'tsu, you disappoint me. You knew that he is a clever guy but still you tried to apprehend him all on your own. You should have enlisted a full gang of warriors to block his escape ways and to manhandle him if he got wild. I must say that you are out of the competition." Keywol'tsu rose up and left the gang. Jeff turned back to the two left and asked: "Well now, what have you two got for me?"

"Fyatia te Ngaba'k is standing over there. It wasn't simple to find her, Jake only heard a rumour and he had no name for me, but I went to the Ngaba'k clan, looked around among the young girls and I found her in the end. And Jake was very happy to learn that we have a main suspect who is absolutely no Sunara." "Well done. And you Ma'tey?"

"It was no easy affair to find those weirs either. At his room in the hometree there was nothing such, of course. At the fishing ground he used to frequent there was none either. But his sweetheart told me that he sometimes paddles to a far out skerry, he sometimes keep things loaded up on that rock. So I asked a fisher to take me out there, far out to sea, next to open sea and no land until Western Islands. I saw nothing up on the rock but looking down in the water I could discern something down there. The fisher dived down and came up with two weirs he recognized as belonging to Tey'au, and he said that there were more of them down there." "This is very satisfactory Ma'tey."

Jeff now said: "It is time to sum up. What have we learned from the facts we now have found?" Ma'tey: "First of all, by escaping he named himself very evidently as the culprit." Beyla: "That girl I brought here will most probably be able to point him out. And finding weirs belonging to his victim at a place he uses to frequent is a good indication too."

Jeff smiled and declared: "Yes indeed both of you! So here is the task for tomorrow. It is very simple: Track him down and catch him! And bring him to me, preferrably alive."

Beyla and Ma'tey first of all decided to cooperate in the manhunt instead of competing, thus they could probably arrest him sooner. They both assembled teams of some twenty warriors each, Ma'tey led the search through the forests and couldn't find him, Beyla went to the canoe shed and found his canoe missing – the conclusion was simple. She informed him about that so while she took the search out to the islets and skerries offshore, Ma'tey went to Jake at the Tree of Souls and asked him to issue a Pandora-wide search through diplomatic channels. He so did, a written message with a description of his looks and manners was instantly sent around to inform other federations that this person should be arrested wherever he was found and sent back to the Amananga clan.

They learned a couple of days later that a na'vi fitting the description had arrived rather sea weary at the small Ang'ang clan of the Northern federation, saying that he was a western islander who had drifted out to sea. He wore no hair adornment or jevelry otherwise indicating from where he came but his loincloth and canoe design looked more like Namana than Western Island. They had in any case put him under detention, pending some would come from Namana to get him.

Beyla and Ma'tey put to sea in a navy flotilla. Coming to the Ang'ang they found out that the suspect had used a need on nature's behalf and a gullible warrior to escape once again, warriors now went out by foot and air looking for him. Then the news broke that someone unknown had been seen in the canoe shed of a neighbouring clan. Ma'tey immediately went there by pa'li, he was greeted with the message that no canoes were absent but there was foodstuff and water in one of them. He thought to himself: "The suspect has tried to steal a canoe to escape once again but he has been surprised and he has run off. We are at his heels now!"

Ma'tey took command now. He divided the warriors the Northerners sent him in gangs of four, with scouts all the time in front and looking for traces he had left – they soon found them.

His tracks lead over hill and vale, in the end a cliffside lead to a crossroad between a simple path and a tough one. The local scout informed Ma'tey: "He doesn't have local knowledge about our geography, he doesn't know that if he chooses to take the easy path he will end up at a peninsula and then he will be sitting trapped." Shortly after that a scout came in with a message: "He has been observed! He has climbed up in a tall tree down at the peninsula!"

The noose now tightened around the fugitive. Warriors assembled under the tree while scouts in the air above all the time kept watch to see if he should try to wiggle away once again.

Finally Ma'tey saw him high up in the tree. He called out to him: "I have been ordered by the warrior master of the Namana federation to arrest you and take you back to the Amananga clan, alive if I can. You are to answer to the accusation that you have killed Tey'au te Amananga Kolo'tey'itan. So I hereby ask you, Fpom'ukan te Amananga Ong'itan, to give up and come down. You are not convicted yet and even if you in the end are found to be guilty you may still probably not need to give up your life for it."

Fpom'ukan yelled from up there with a voice filled with desperation: "Why should I be punished for dealing with his anti-social and egotist behavior? The clan ought to thank me for punishing him for his bad ways!" Ma'tey answered him: "You can say that to the clan assembly which will hold your trial!"

Fpom'ukan climbed slowly down, soon as he was down he was tied up and put at a pa'li. The successful scouts and hunters were received by the Ang'ang at their hometree with cheers and congratulations for accomplishing their hunt for a na'vi game. Beyla and Ma'tey then put him aboard a navy canoe and they paddled over to the promontory of the Namana Land. From there they took him to Jeff and they declared: "Here is our captive Fpom'ukan, unharmed. We are of the opinion that it would have been hard to catch him if we hadn't cooperated about the manhunt, and we have understood that we still have a good deal to learn about catching criminals."

Jeff stopped for a moment and considered. Beyla was obviously the best detective of the two while Ma'tey was just as obviously the better manhunter, also he had shown himself to be good at negotiating with disturbed minds. The conclusion was simple.

"Eyktan Beyla and srung eyktan Ma'tey, you will be the master criminal catchers of the federation, I will teach you everything I know and you will then recruit, teach and build up a corps of able criminal catchers, like a leading couple in each tribe and one in each clan, to take care of lesser crims like theft, slander and vandalism on their own, and assist you with investigating more serious cases.

Fpom'ukan was brought for the clan assembly and presented with the evidence to his crime – the weirs found at a fishing ground of his and he was pointed out by Fyatia te Ngaba'k as the one she had seen that day. Trying to evade law didn't speak in his favour either. He was then subjected to having his innermost secrets pulled out of him through a tsahaylu link, olo'eyktan Lazafnu could see how he had overtaken the paddling Tey'au that day and then stabbed the exhausted Tey'au when he came alongside him. He was convicted to a year of penal hard labour and furthermore to a later life in ignominy, being given a special tattoo on his chest which he had to keep naked from now on to display it. Not the least punishment was to see his prospective mate reject him with many tears and the utterly shameful eyes of his parents – he had been told that they had shunned any parentage of him.

Jake, Jeff, Ma'tey and Beyla all witnessed the verdict. At the dinner meal afterwards Jake proposed an honorary title for Jeff: "Creator of the Pandora FBI", Jeff replied: "Born as an Englishman I would in so case prefer to be known as the 'creator of the Pandora 'Scotland Yard'."

After the meal he called in his two students to give them the very first knowledge item in their special study. "I like to give you the twelve commandments of a criminal investigation.

Neutrality! You must always take a free and unbiased point of view to what is going on, you must to the best of your ability avoid your own loyalities, sympathies and opinions influence your investigation. That was what made Peywat unsuitable for this career.

Things are not always what they look like at first glance. Fpom'ukan was an intelligent one, he made it look like the Sunara were guilty which they were not – he may not be the only smart criminal around! We must look at as many clues as possible before we make conclusions, and be ready to amend them if we find evidence showing that we have been on a wrong track, the scenario is to be adapted to the map not the other way round. Jumping to her conclusions was another mistake of Peywat.

Secrecy! It is important to a hunter that his game isn't aware of being stalked and your game is a na'vi! If the culprit learns that he is under investigation he may try to destroy evidence or silence witnesses and he may try to escape.

Looking for clues it is a good idea to know what you are looking for but always keep open to find something unexpected.

We must collect as many clues as possible, a small one may still be very important yes even decisive, remember the mistake of Nama'pi.

Always keep in mind that clues are not proofs. Clues may seem to be conflicting but then they may show to be correct both of them or one – or even both – may be leading to dead ends. Or they may be false clues put out by the culprit to mislead you, like Fpom'ukan tried to do.

Evidences and witnesses are important. The culprit or his friends may try to destroy them so protect them. But evidence destruction is in itself a strong evidence of guilt and it must be a crime in itself, investigate it!

When coming to arrestation it is important with careful preparation. Assemble a powerful team of warriors, seal off possible escape routes and then go at the suspect with sufficient many warriors to take on him if he resists. It may sometimes be useful to follow him along at an escape so that he exhausts himself and becomes simpler to overman. Your manhunt was exemplary, Keywol'tsu's was not.

Having captured a suspect then do take him or her to olo'eyktan or tsahik for interrogation. You may well come to discover that your suspect is innocent after all! Interrogation isn't a trial but trying to evade it may be a strong evidence of guilt.

Some criminals are smart and manage to evade arrest for a long time. So it is important to build up an archive over cases you have had, whether solved or not. One day the criminal may be careless and then you can have his track if you can see and compare with what he has done earlier. Also former cases are good material for training use when you are going to educate new criminal catchers. Your reading ability as scouts is what has made you candidates for this career in the first place.

That hindering a crime is better than catching the criminal afterwards goes without saying. Sometimes it is possible to get the wind of something that is brewing by talking with someone who is informed. You should appoint someone you trust in each clan to sniff out if someone is cooking elaborate and sinister plans. Then you can apprehend them before they get into it or warn them against ever trying what they are planning.

Last but not least, some criminals are not only smart but lucky too. They may evade capture for a long, long time, but normally patience and perseverance will pay off. Never give up, keep noting carefully in the archive and be ready to take up the case once again when you have time from other cases you have had to give priority for some time."

Jeff then dismissed them for the evening. Training was about to start tomorrow in earnest. Much of modern criminalist technique was of course unavailable to na'vi: fingerprints, DNA-analysis, toxicological analysis… But Jeff was convinced that with careful work a lot could still be done, through studies of locations, alibis, pathological studies of bodies, criminalist psychology and arms technology, and then they of course had an interrogation technique that no lie could lead astray in the tsahaylu link. Jake agreed with that when he heard Jeff's final report. He gave his assistance to Beyla and Ma'tey when they built up their "criminal catching directorate", by formulating a standard form for announcing missing persons and helping with recruiting people at lower levels from all over the land.

Peywat, Nama'pi and Keywol'tsu eventually were admitted to the corps and became able thief catchers in their clans. Being a "criminal catcher" became a prestigious career and other federations soon enthusiastically imitated the institution.


	6. Schooling at Pandora

Author's note: Not all interesting stories are dramatic. I thought that it might be interesting to take a look at everyday life at Pandora when Jake's institution building was more or less finish, they way I envision it.

**Training in a Bird's Perspective**

Na'vi clans had ever since the third toruk makto been training youngsters systematically for a life of hunting, rituals and crafts practice, at least an old traditional tale said that this mythical hero was the one to regularize training of youngsters. New was that schools were established to teach how to lead this activity on a higher level. The system was taken by many na'vi as one more proof of Jakesully's genius about building a system at Pandora that would stand a better chance at repulsing yet another Sky people invasion, Jake disagreed. When he tried to avoid ovations, homage and adoration, it was more than just humility. It was also because other people deserved their more than fair shares of the respect he was shown.

Most reforms, trainings and other inventions Jake put in force, were not brilliant inventions out of one genius, they were discussed carefully beforehand in brainstorms, debates and criticism, with Norm, Neytiri and Mo'at, from time to time also with knowledgable people like master history teller Atanzau, his next in command Tsailoni and with people from other clans. And they were developed step by step over years, not presented as a finish package out of a single golden idea. Jake was convinced that one genius is good, but many simply ordinarily smart people would, put together and harmonized with each other create one genius when compiled together by a superior leader, if given time – and to constitute one genius out of many only smart people is a much more reliable way of finding brilliant ideas than to look for one person with an extraordinary enlightened head. As a peacetime leader, Jake regarded himself more as an editor than an author.

Experienced people trained young people like they always had done, the new was that all crafts were given a leader with a title. To gain this title you could earn respect and experience with years of experience, or go the fast lane by attending a school of a tribe, to return back to own or some else clan as a well-schooled leader. At such schools a warrior would learn about advanced weaponry use, tactics in small groups, strategy of a total federation, logistics etc., while a healer would learn about medicine plants and their preparation, healing incantations, diets and the more advanced surgery not open for every other clan healer. The principle was the same for other careers – learning the more advanced affairs needed for the successful leadership of professional people. No career was strictly denied the other gender but all had a majority of one gender, most warriors, hunters and scouts were males while most healers, weavers and potters were females but not exclusively.

Young people slated for succession either to olo'eyktan or tsahik would after a successful general training, normally of two years followed by two further years of professional schooling, pass on to the Royal Academy of the federation after their mating, for two final years of learning top leadership. The curriculum at the Royal Academy was mostly diplomacy, politics and ceremony, also rhetorics and practical psychology.

Teaching teenagers at basic training was mostly imitation of a demonstrated example, plus some singing, dancing, riddle guessing and story telling with a grain of wisdom to learn from. At the schools it was more lectures, home exercises, field exercises and problems solving for groups. Finally, at the Royal Academy it was again more advanced, the students at the academies were taught mostly by debates over given topics, Socratic dialogues, by apprenticeships in diplomatic missions and by taking part in arranging inter-federation meetings and festivals.

Many srung ay'eyktan–soon–to–be had warrior or hunter training, quite a few scout training and among coastal clans as fishers and sea warriors, but only a few had storytelling or male crafts like tool-making or weaponmaking. Likewise most ay'tsahik had been trained as healers or priestesses but only a minority in singing or female crafts like weaving, pottery, cooking and child minding. However, in many Academy there was someone breaking the norm in some way or other – a female eyktan and a male tsahik, a craftsman eyktan or tsahik, etc. Jake found this very beneficial, it was good for young people on the way to high office to be reminded that being born in the right family was no guarantee for a genius brain, and a brilliant idea for a diplomatic move might well be hatched by a cook. He was after all himself a prime example of this sort… Also, some clans were renowned masters in some special craft, the Omatikaya in weaving for instance, the Pa'li clan in acrobatic entertainment and the Ekanagi in pottery, then it made sense to include people with such specialties among the likely candidates for succession. Jake made a point out of keeping an eye on the small Barter clan in the southern plains land, their mastery of the finer points of the art of trade might make them a little headstrong in the future…?

Jake spent much time and care with planning curricula of the educational institutions. The cornerstone of the institution was the nawm karyu eyktan, literally "grand leader of teaching", freely translated as "secretary of education". This functionary managed so to say a "directorate", i.e. not with grand master status and so not a regular member of the federation debate circle, but tasked with keeping the education system of the federation working. The training was for the clans to manage, schools for the tribes and the Royal Academy for the whole federation, but the inspectors of the karyu eyktan could and often did report malpractices. One day in the future, by the reforms the Revolutionaries put in practice during the Righteous War, they were also going to be granted responsibility for testing those who were finish at training, schooling or at the Academy, to keep learning a leveller of inequality in the Na'vi society.

As time passed by and the schools had given the clans and tribes the functionaries they needed to run a proper administration, a reserve of qualified but currently unemployed na'vi built up. Jake had a talk with Norm, Mo'at and some crafts masters and came up with an idea to handle this problem. Young people who had trained finish at schools were offered a position in the Federation staff, forming an elite corps of various kinds. Trained warriors could thus join the Federation Guard, making an elite kumpongu where all warriors wore small brown belts and the experienced ones broad with embroideries, commanded by a guard "colonels" and "majors" and finally by the nawm tsamshiu eyktan, the supreme warrior leader. In the same way trained gatherers could join the gathering staff of the Federation, their "good gatherers" were employed in the kitchen of the Federation. Likewise, sea warriors could join the Sea Guard of the Federation, forming a paddling corps. And a staff hunter corps for feeding this lot of na'vi, a choir of the Federation and an actor's troupe was formed, etc. Another such household was formed for the Nawm Fpom Lawk'us, freely translated as Great Peace Council.

Thus otherwise unemployed young people could be employed while waiting for some job opportunity. Jake and Norm saw another useful function in it too, one day Jake would be retiring and then Toruk Makto was no longer the linchpin of the whole system. Then it would be beneficial to have a corps of retainers of various kinds to cast a spell of pomp & circumstance over the Federation top people and over the Great Peace Council, to remind all na'vi at Namana Land that those were dignified bodies, to be obeyed always but of course not blindly. This household force was soon imitated by other federations, its advantage was obvious.

Basic training carried on as it had always done, first general ability with life at Pandora and then ability with the chozen craft. What this looked like we all know.

**A Lesson at Scouting School**

Karyu (teacher): How are You, class?

(All pupils rising up) Very well, karyu!

K: Sit down, please. It is time for a reminder why you are so important to any clan and to all this federation as such, scouts. I am sure you had some confused gazes when you made clear to friends and family that you had decided to train as a scout. You could have told them that scouting is not one career but the gate to many – formal talker (diplomat in 'inglisi), messenger bringing, criminal catching, treasurer of treaties, aside from ordinary scouting. That is why being given a black armband is almost a ticket to the scouting school – they will pass on to many careers. That is why you were taught to read and write at basic scout training. Which of them you choose will be up to you at your successful end of this school, it will be two years more at a special school if you decide to join such a special team. So it is not uncommon that a scout is named srung olo'eyktan rather than a warrior, two years at the Royal Academy then and you are in for a VERY prestigious career!

That is daily encouragement for today. Time for homework presentation, give me your proposal to a criminal-wanted diplomatic notice. Nin'at, can you come and hand out these corrected exercises of yesterday while you collect those of today? So you can see what I think of your archive entries in your diplomatic archive.

We pass on to main topic of discussion for today, surveillance networking. As the scouting master of a clan it will be very important for you to keep a complete picture of what is going on in the clan's territory. Also it makes it simpler for the messenger coming to find the scout on guard, to take his or her report back to the scouting master. That goes whether it is game movements you are following, the whereabouts of criminals on the run, or enemies raiding. So what do you think will be the surveillance system giving you the best picture? – Yes, Ngumi'ukan? And explain why you think so.

P 1: (Rising up) Dividing the clan territory in zones where each zone is the responsibility of one scout. The reason is that shadowing a herd, a criminal, an enemy for too long can draw open a hole in the surveillance screen, so that we can miss a more important hunting target, a criminal sneaking in or an enemy kumpongu who is trying to raid. So when our target is approaching the area of the neighbouring scout, we are to inform him and then the messenger coming to have reports to bring back to the scouting master.

K: You can sit down again Ngumi'ukan. I agree with you, just remember that it will occasionally happen that this next scout is of an ally. Then it takes pronouncing that little formal ditty so that your information is passed on to that other scouting master properly.

But now I pose you two problems, all of you. Your criminal or warlike enemy will also be aware of this principle, they can follow on the heels of some such to get into the area unnoticed. So what does it imply when the messenger can't find the scout in an area? Or the messenger goes missing too? Yes, tell us Txakxä, and what should be the measure then taken?

P 2: (Rising up) It means some problem is stirring in that area. Then a kumpongu of warriors and hunters should be sent out to that area. Mostly they will in the end find a scout who is asleep at his duty or chatting with a love affair, but... It just might be more serious... If the messenger goes missing too it is an even more serious sign of trouble brewing."

K: You can sit down Txakxä. Yes that is right. The warriors are again and again insisting on martial discipline, now you see why discipline is important to scouts too.

So we see, you the scouting master of the clan must keep an image of what is going on in the clan territory. How can you best make up this properly? It might in times of crisis become quite complicated to keep a clear picture. A herd of angtsik here, a palulukan on prowl there, an epidemic brewing in that neighbouring clan, a criminal on the run in another neighbouring clan – and then raiders are entering the territory...

P 1. Ngumi'ukan rose up and proposed: "I would hang up a blanket with lines drawn to represent the terrain, and put in needles with coloured lines to denote various herds etc."

(Whispered comment between two class mates: "Looks like Ngumi'ukan is aiming for a toothed necklace around his neck! We better jack him down just a little come occasion!")

K: Good Ngumi'ukan, you can sit down. That is a good way of doing it, at least when times are getting frantic. Such a blanket of terrain and interesting details in the terrain, among sky people called a map, or at least a small square of it, is a good way of doing another task vital to a scouting master. What am I now hinting at – yes Zizi'au?"

P 3: (Rising up) Sending reports to tribal scout master, so that he or she can keep an image about important things going on in the tribal territory. Changing patterns of herd migrations. Movements of criminals or raiding parties, to rouse other clans for making ready for that they soon should make ready to take over responsibility with keeping survey. Talkers (diplomats, in human speak) should also be made to know, changing migration routes and inability with proper surveillance might imply change in borderlines between clan territories.

K: Ummm, you can sit down Zizi'au. You are right and also about borderline rearrangements, but do realize that it takes long term inability or migration route change to initiate talks about territory borders. Such is a task for talkers you see, such problems takes negotiations and those affairs are not to be trifled with. It is not, repeat not, decisions taken on the spur of failing to handle some problem.

Final problem for this lesson, you might as a tribal scouting master experience that ill discipline can take place among clan scouting masters too. Tell me signs of this among them.

P 4 and P 5: Riru'ite and Talfikx both rose up: "Shadowing is ordered against every other target in the territory." "Scout master sends lots of messages over to neighbouring clan without reporting to his tribal scouting master."

K: You can sit down both of you, I would prefer that you rose up one at the time. Remember this! It is discipline, you see! Well. Shadowing can be very efficient if you are trailing something of towering importance and if you have sufficient scouts for it, only avoid opening holes in the screen. And it is very important for the clan scouting master to be aware of that urgent messages might need to be relayed over to some neighbouring clan without waiting for it to go through talker's channels. Just avoid disturbing those neighbours with trifles, and don't forget to report what you did to the scouting master of the tribe.

Well, that is it with talking and discussing for this round, now we'll soon go for a round of tracking in the forest. You can all go and have some rest for your heads before we get going for that. Later today we'll talk about risks and possibilities for talkers who are to talk with others, be it clans, tribes and federations.

**A Lesson at Warrior School**

Karyu (teacher): Good morning, young warriors. As always you are keeping in mind the honourable career you have chosen, one that may well earn your way all up to the very top of the ladder? Of course you know this, just remember toruk makto Jakesully himself, he is a huge example of emulation to all of you. So we pass on to our topic of today without any waste of time. We are to talk about supreme strategy in this lesson.

A cadet: But do we need to learn about that, it is probably only for the nawm tsamshiu eyktan (grand master of warriors, equal to major general) to think about this.

K: Normally yes, but on the one hand you might one day become one too – or you may end up succeeding Jakesully himself, who knows? On the other hand it will be useful for you to be aware of why your superiors decide this and that, so that you can give your grand master good ideas and so that you can declare your protest if a mindless strategy is decreed.

Well, anyway. A very long time ago, may be at the time of the third toruk makto, nobody knows for sure, there was a nkxi tsamshiu eyktan of a tribe called Chu, in a federation at Earth named China. He was named Sun Zi, he was a great karyu too and much of what we are to discuss in the coming lessons are in the first place his lessons. These sayings of Sun Zi I have from a bundle of paper (a book) Norm found in the working room (office) of that evil tawtute tsamshiu eyktan (human warrior team leader) Quaritch, where he had been sitting and creating his sinister plans. Norm read those sayings for me aloud and explained for me what I didn't understand, and it is clear that this Sun Zi must have been a very smart one. Now we shall work like this that I say ideas he spoke and you give your comments.

He said that power flows from the strong towards the weak like water flows downhill, so we attack where the enemy is weak, not where he is strong. Yes, what do you say, all of you?

C 1: So we must avoid his power but attack his weakness.

K: Correct. But he put a qualifier to this, he said that deception is a major power. That is, appear strong when you are weak, pretend to be weak when you are strong. Pretend to be far away when you are close by, make him believe that you are in the vicinity when you are really at a distance. Make him believe that you are ill informed when you actually know everything, appear to be all-knowing when you are ignorant… thus we prepare him for surprise which is a very powerful stratagem, and we can simpler avoid being fooled.

C 2: For instance, I advance to battle with only a few arrows in the quiver of each warrior, to make him believe that my warriors are ill armed, but then pick up arrows hidden in a tree nearby so that they have the arrows they need when battle is joined…

C 3: Or making the warriors quarrel loudly about the stupidity of the eyktan, so that enemy spies hear it and thinks that the commanding eyktan is a fool!

K: Precisely, both of you. Next idea from Sun Zi, always try to undermine the fighting spirit of the enemy. Surprises, cutting his lines of supply – coming back to that in some time, propaganda etc. are useful for this. Remember how Jakesully eroded the spirit of the sawtute before they took the Amananga garrison, how he shocked them with that display to make the sawtute surrender at Gargoyle Fish Land. There are so many ways to do this, but always try.

C 1: How about this, letting the enemy warriors loose and ask them to say at home that another clan has joined our side.

K: Risky stratagem, that one. They might find out if you are just fooling them and then you will be hung out to dry, the laughing stock of everyone. Jakesully had great success with it, though. All right, always try to utilize terrain to your advantage – attacking uphill is harder and arrows striking down hits harder. So try to meet the enemy at a hillside or a riverbank, this is where they will be at a disadvantage, alternatively try to trap them against a hillside or a riverbank so that it will be harder for them to escape.

C 4: Or a coastline…

K: Of course, that too. Passing on to another of Sun Zi's ideas. It is very important to know the enemy and make full use of this knowledge, as important as knowing your own power. During the Great Battle the Na'vi wouldn't have stood any chance if not for the knowledge of Jakesully about tawtute powers and weaknesses. During the Great Battle the riders of the Plains clan ignored his advices and tried to engage the shooters head on instead of at flanks and rear like he advised them, and paid for not heeding his knowledge in blood.

C 3: In other words, if you don't have any such contact with insider knowledge like Jakesully had then spies are all the more important.

K: I agree with that. Furthermore: Flanks and rear are zones of vulnerability, to go at them is better than attacking head on. This is true in tactics but in strategy too.

C 5: Like in a tight spot, such as a mountain pass or a winding path in the forest?

K: I agree, tight spots like river crossings, big tree branches and mountain passes are also good to control as they deny the enemy entry to your territory. Or, keeping in mind what I said a while ago, make him afraid of just that so that he wastes time. Leading me to another saying of Sun Zi. As a commander of war effort you are up against two opponents who can be even more relentless than the enemy, or even more powerful than any ally: Nature and time. Against the sawtute we had nature on our side, with our air, our wildlife, our water and food. But Jakesully had time against him during the Long War, if he had tarried too long with overcoming them they would have grown ever stronger until they in the end would have been able to send a dangerous illness at us all. Revealing this time frame was one of the important secrets his spies revealed to him. Comments anyone? No? So here is another saying coming.

A very important point of strategy is to capture resources so that you can build up strong enough striking power – also strong enough power to strike back at those coming to recapture your conquest. Then you can build up a strong force in your base zone, using it to strike out against the battle zone. Also, capturing resources will disable your enemy as much as it is enabling you. Often the enemy is short of one critical resource, then you should capitalize on that. If he is low on food then strike at food resources, is he low on water then strike him in the scorching sun, if he is low on loyalty then make propagandists incite strife and disorder...

C 2: As to food, by capturing transport columns of supplies? Or how?

K: Also by driving away wild game from the area where the enemy is camping, by raiding and burning down their larder, by fooling them into some barren area…

Well, on to another saying. When planning a campaign, lands of action should be divided in zones. First comes the peaceful zone, where peacetime conditions rule, where food is prepared for warriors in action, garment is made, arms are produced, and warrior recruits are trained. Next is the base zone, where a kumpongu is assembled and readied for action until departure. Then is the neutral zone, such as the sea or the landscape before you engage the enemy. We pass on to the contentious zone, where you intend to give battle. Beyond that is the enemy zone, where the enemy still is in safe control for now. Comments please.

C 6: But it may sometimes be possible to make small scale hit-and-run raids into the enemy zone, like the sawtute did against our eastern coastline after they had been driven off Namana Land.

K: That means that you make an ill-guarded section of enemy coastline into a battle zone for a short while.

The sum of the book is that one day of good planning can be worth a year of warfare, or even the difference between victory and defeat. Can you give me some examples, cadets?

C 1: We saw that when they captured the enemy garrison at Sea Maggot Island. They had spied carefully, developed many stratagems, slipped enough warriors on to the island unseen and unnoticed, and turned their fearsome weapons against the enemy in the next round.

K: Very correct. Well, there will be more sayings of Sun Zi coming in next lesson, now we take a break and then we shall start prepare for a tactical war game later today. There will be war games of strategy to come in some time, so listen well and ponder on what I will be telling you.

**A Lesson at ****Fisher's and Sea Warrior's School**

"Admiral" Deke Gill had had the idea to put into use some good, old navy practices from Earth. So he used to call out when he came to a crew, in this case cadets: "All cadets hoy!" And they all rose. "Sit down please."

K: Ya've been taught maritime sorts of huntin' administration, like rules for stock survey, for seamanship 'cludin' navigation, for archery and other techniques land warriors also do. But today we're to go into fightin' at sea. Ya see lads and lasses, it ain't quite same thing as at land.

C 1: But it should be sufficient to simply paddle a kumpongu of warriors over the sea and let them give battle on land, to gain control over sea.

K: No lad, that's wrong. It does happen that our enemy chooses to meet us at open sea. 'Ow do ya think this will happen?

C 2: They will probably be attacking us by ay'ikran in the air when we are close to shore.

K: Yes, likely. Whadda ya say we do 'gainst that?

C 3: We paddle over the sea by night. Ay'ikran are not happy about flying in the night.

K: Ummm. Partly right but there's more to it. What more?

C1: We can build those special canoes for roosting ay'ikran and bring along some flying warriors if some are available.

K: Yes, improvin' now. Still more?

C 4: If we meet them at open sea and are superior in the number of canoes, few flyers will be needed. Then we can link canoes together and board the enemy canoes, turning the sea battle into a land battle at sea.

K: Gettin' good now. More ideas?

C 5: Some sea warriors can jump to sea, swim to the enemy canoes and attack the warriors aboard from their rear when battle has been joined.

K: Yes and there are more martime stratagems. Ponder on this, and take 'em into use first time we go to an exercise. Now passin' on to battle organization. In a fleet the position of the pirogue eyktan ("admiral") is in the centre or the van, while the srung pirogue eyktan ("vice admiral") take up position at the rear. Why so, do ya think?

C 3: So that all canoe eyktan and srung canoe eyktan ("commanders" and commodores" respectively) will know where to look to see which orders are given.

K: Just makin' sure ya know which signal too look for as to which order is to be followed. Tell me!

C 4: We should look for a big banner in the mast top, of various patterns and colours. Red means "attack", green means "make ready to put to sea" alternatively "make ready to go ashore", blue means "retire", black means "disperse and back to assembly position", white means "surrender", waving the banner by striking it with a rod it means that the order is urgent. And of course there are the flutes of the ikran-flyers. And below the order banner is the fleet or flotilla banner, to mark out to whom the order is given, if any in particular. A bell is to be sounded with a single clang when a signal banner is hoisted to call attention to the rising banner, if I remember right – is this right, pirogue eyktan?

K: Yes it is, sonny. Other use for special signals is that some flotilla of the fleet in battle is to make a tactical mov'ment, like attackin' the rear or flank of the enemy or to land a force. And a constant bell ringin', what does this mean?

C 1: That is an alarm signal, meaning "all crew to battle positions". Belling when closing in on a coastline means "all crew ashore", bringing arms along if the coastline is enemy territory, belling when ashore means "all crew on board", bringing along all equipment they have.

K: Quite correct. And when ashore, then which signals will be to watch or listen for?

C 3: When ashore we are quite ordinary foot-slogging warriors on foot, so then drumming is the signal to listen for. Or trumpets if we mount fa'li. Or flutes if we take to the air on ay'ikran.

K: Indeed. All right, lads and lasses. So now we go for a paddlin' exercise with some exercise fightin' to it. See to that ya try out ideas you get for various maneuvers and tell us about 'em when we meet again later. Tomorrow we'll talk about inland naval operations, on rivers and lakes, and the problems and opportunities that come with this. Out to sea we go, cadets! Yarrr!

Deke was having fun!

**A Lesson at Hunting School**

Karyu (teacher): OK, all of you, you can sit down now. I begin with reminding you that it is us hunters who are keeping the whole clan alive by putting food in the firepit. All right, the gatherers and at greater watery areas fishers too assist us but to fill the belly it takes meat, at least for us not living close to an ocean, big lake or river. Topic of today is hunting team organization. Who is the leader of hunting activity of a clan?

A pupil: Olo'eyktan, of course.

K: Yes he is, ultimately. But from time to time he or she is busy otherwise, an olo'eytkan is responsible for all of the clan's going on, not just to fill bellies. Then it is up to his next-in-command, the srung olo'eyktan, to take care of things, but any clan leader must always heed the wisdom of his olo'taronyu eyktan, who in any case is olo'eyktan foremost councillor in affairs dealing with hunting. And sometimes a subsidiary hunt is arranged for some less significant game than the main game olo'eyktan is in the van of hunting for. So how do you think a hunting team should be composed?

P: Next to the hunting team leader there should be a siltsan taronyu (able hunter) and some ten hunters, give or take. One of them can take care of the skinning and butchering work.

For big hunts one team may not be sufficient, then more than one team can cooperate. If it is a very big hunt with many teams engaged one team can do the skinning and butchering work afterwards while the rest of them bring the products back to home tree for processing.

K: Good! When more than one team is engaged in a hunting expedition, competition may arise between the teams. What do you think about this?

P 1: It is good because then the hunters will hone their abilities all the more and listen to their eyktan and siltsan taronyu even better, to pick up their ability.

P 2: But on the other hand they may develop an "us-and-them" mentality, our team is the best and never mind the needs of the rest of the clan!

K: So it is a responsibility of the hunting leaders to encourage or discourage hunting team competition, as fits occasion. How would you think that can be done?

P 1: Telling stories and singing songs of great hunters and their successes, in producing game for the clan but equally much for restraint from angering Eywa with depleting game. Remind them that any hunter may be named a siltsan taronyu, any siltsan taronyu can earn entry to a hunting school, and go on to high office. He might even be offered to mate with a daughter of olo'eyktan, he could end up as one himself!

P 2: Participation in and attending festivals where hunting teams can compete on equal terms with many others, for a hunting feather of some hue. Thus the competition can be directed into safe forms that won't deplete game or disrupt clan life, and young hunters can behold what is proper behaviour of a hunter.

P 3: Ask good hunters to emigrate to clans in need of good hunters, thus they can put their excessive hunting skill for the good of someone needing it.

P 4: A hunter with excessive hunting drive could be asked by olo'eyktan to find another profession. And poachers are of course criminals to be punished.

K: Good. We continue tomorrow, but here is a question for you to ponder, give me your solutions tomorrow. Your problem is: How do we keep tally on number of game in one area? Tip: Don't forget that herds may move across borders between clan territories, between active hunting grounds and recuperating ones and into common lands. Now I leave you to your siltsan taronyu to participate in today's tapirus hunt.

**First**** Lesson at Healing School**

K: Hello class! So these are the new, expert healers!

All rose up and replied a polite "Kaltxi karyu!" a capella.

Karyu Otikakx entered the circle of now welcomed medical pupils. He started with reciting the Hippocratic exhortation of the seriousness of the medical vocation: "The art is long, life is short, the diagnosis is vague, the occasion is passing, the dosage is inexact…" and then he continued with demanding from them an adapted version of the Hippocratic oath: "Firstly I promise always to show my ay'karyu respect by heeding their words and sharing with them what new knowledge I discover. Secondly, I promise never willingly to do any harm to anyone…" Then the inauguration part of the education upstart was finish.

K: Now sit down, please. You have in your basic training heard about incantations and prayers, about uncomplicated diets, commonplace massage for relaxation, and easily administrable medicines. You have seen how to give immediate care. (In human terms: first aid). Solacing the grieving more than a mother can is also for the healer to do – in cooperation with the priestesses of course. And you have been told about simpler, superficial surgery, like cutting out boils and pulling out infected teeth. But mostly you have been taught to do like the master healer of the clan tell you to. (I.e. compared to Earth – health care mostly like nursing, not so much handling the root to the disease)

Now, however, you will pass on to more advanced stuff. You will learn to identify diseases coming from wrong diet and how to correct them. (Food deficiencies, like scurfy, pellagra and beri-beri at Earth). You will be taught to set bones and how to squeeze bones and muscles into proper alignment. (Comparing at Earth: physiotherapy and chiropractics) You will learn about advanced medicines that can save life or kill if they are improperly administered. And you will learn serious surgery, involving cutting up bellies to remedy the problems going on inside the belly.

But before we can let you loose on such advanced techniques, you need to learn a lot about how our bodies work. In this respect we have learned a lot that we didn't know in old times from those who began as dreamwalking healers, so pupils, give greetings to Maksinepatel, Vaynepxel and Niktxikson, they have taught us much more than we used to know, many have been saved with what they have explained us. Here they are, show them honour!

(Applause)

Maksinepatel (formerly Max Patel) walked into the ring and took the word. "You will for sure be taught how your bodies work, but also why and how things can go wrong in this fabulous thing that is your body. And your body isn't alone in this world either, how it works in relation with the environment is vital to know too, we will explain you how other people can make sick, how animals so very small that they are invisible can cause sickness when entering your body, and how to re-establish health in such cases too. For if you don't understand such affairs you will not be able to do your healing properly. You will not be able to advise your common healers properly either."

Then **s**he stepped back and Niktxikson (who once had been named Nicholas Pelham Dixon in full) took over. "You will always cooperate with the priestly vocation – intimately so! But as thinking is something that goes on in the head, so it is possible to become ill in the head too, and that can be your task to deal with. To see where goes the border between the competence with disturbed mind we are going to teach you and the priestly competence, that is something important you are going to learn."

Vaynepxel (formerly Wayne Stuart Bell) took the limelight and spoke. "And you will need to learn to cooperate, not only with priestesses. With hunters, gatherers and fishers, to make them bring specially needed food and medicines. With toolmakers, so that they give you precisely the tools you need for this special surgery. With the clan, tribe and federation eyktan, in case a dangerous epidemic is spreading. And others. Cooperation with other healers is vital too, the lower healers will make sure that they get the care they need – correct food, medicine, encouragement etc., so that they gain back health all the quicker. The common healers will be your assistants when you perform operations. And you are going to be their karyu like we are your karyu now."

Otikakx took the word again, to conclude the welcoming ceremony. "So we take a break, young healers! Afterwards Maksine will start lessons in anatomy, that means knowledge of how na'vi bodies look like inside. Don't go far away, you will soon be called back."

**A Lesson at Priest School**

The longed for day had arrived: Last day at Priest School of Southern Coast tribe.

Uwitiri sighed. She closed her eyes and reminisced the first day, when all of the new priest(esse)s-to-be met at the Tree of Souls to be inaugurated in the vocation – the welcoming speech of the tsahik to the tribe Kllte'ite, she said for instance that they were now entering a career that cut across all of this world of Pandora. She remembered how the tsahik pricked them in the shoulder with her thorn all of them and licked the drop of blood seeping out, and then gave them some words of wisdom for each of them. Final event of that first day had been a common pilgrimage to the Tree, to listen for words of wisdom from the ancestors too.

Then two years of study began. There had been much said about pilgrimage organization, about cooperation with people of other careers, about understanding of people's minds – as single persons and as collective masses, about ceremonialism and a lot more. But more than half of the study time had gone into learning invocations, blessings and hymns – and a few curses… as well as meditative sessions on thoughts given them by the karyu of the day.

Now, however, all this was at end, and they all went to the Tree of Souls again. She and all the others faced tsahik Riri't, Kllte'ite had had to retire after being struck by a debilitating disease last year. Riri't held a speech:

"Priests and priestesses! I have the honour of announcing to you that except Bobo'ukan all of you passed the tests yesterday! And he will be here again next year, his failure wasn't of the disastrous kind that demonstrate Eywa's displeasure with him. The rest of you can now go back to your clans to take up your vocation, and I can hereby announce to you there are currently four head priestess jobs vacant in clans of various tribes – I suggest you apply for them! Those of you who fail to be appointed to these, can join the staff of the supreme priestess of the federation while waiting for another opportunity. Don't be afraid of emigrating to other clans, tribes, may be even to other federations!

Some of you are offspring of ay'eyktan, you may have a coming olo'eyktan among your favourites or you may even be in line for succession to the tsahik dignity. But all of you who are not so, do realize that you still are vital to your clans! Remember for instance that it does happen that the tsahik of the clan has no priestly training but as a healer or at rare instances some else profession, then it will be up to the head priest or priestess of the clan to be her head councillor in divine affairs.

Now, I have the honour of declaring to you Eywa's blessing for the new initiates of the priestly vocation."

She intoned an invocative hymn, asking Eywa to bless us with the wisdom, compassion and integrity fitting for the vocation. Other priests and priestesses who had been lecturing us these last two years sang a capella in duet with her. While they sang, those who were studying in the class under us came in and showered us with a well-smelling scent, Bobo'ukan was one of them. Finally, a drink with intoxicating properties was handed out to us, to be swallowed as the hymn began to approach the ecstatic finale, we soon became a little dizzy of it.

Then it was that Riri't called out: "Do you all promise to serve Eywa faithfully and with all your dignity, honesty and gained knowledge? Answer me a capella, please!"

W all replied in unison: "We so do!" Some short time lasted, everyone waited in tense anxiety for the verdict from the divinity. Then the tsahik of the Omatikaya clan, who had taken over when Neytiri Mo'at'ite was promoted to tsahik to the federation, came out from the branches of the Sacred Tree, she took up position in front of the singers and announced: "Eywa has heard your promise and she believes you to be as honourable as you say you are, all of you! She welcomes you to the priestly vocation!"

Everyone sighed in relief, and now the gay party commenced.

**A Lesson at the Royal Academy**

Uwu'tey regarded himself lucky beyond words to have been appointed to be karyu eyktan, i.e. teacher head, in his "education directorate" second only to education director and his assistant, nawm karyu eyktan Feoze and srung nawm karyu eyktan Ruzite. He had in other words been tasked with leading the top formal education of the up and coming clan, very probably some tribe, may be even federation leaders too. He had been guest lecturer at crafts schools and he could clearly sense the difference, to his advantage: He and his subordinate karyu at the academy were teachers of the cream of the clans of the Namana Land federation. He sometimes had them debate how to improve training, in shape as well as content, for the new leaders of the Na'vi federations – some of those ideas had been good, they had been reported to Jakesully and had become established practice. Well, some of the students could sometimes be a little too aware of their status as best of the élite, picking off some of that hubris was part of his everyday job.

He had another karyu to assist him. Anything more wasn't necessary, his classes were never so numerous in size like at other schools, four or five students was normal and sometimes six or even, very rarely, seven. Unlike those who came out from other schools, the students from the Academy were already designated for clan leadership. Significantly smaller classes and more mature students made a more discursive education possible.

Topic of today was exchange of experiences from the Namana Land toolmaking festival. Such festivals had for times immemorial been arranged for sharing of abilities, stories, songs etc. Some said that this was another of the inventions of the Third Toruk Makto. New was a formal structure to them, clans were nowadays entitled to entries in the tribal festival, winners from those contest would pass on to the federation festivals and then with further success to the festival below the Tree of Spirits. Brown, white, yellow and even red badges of respect could be won along the way, competition among the clanspeople for being appointed to go to such festivals was always fierce.

Such festivals were arranged staggered, so that every year there were two festivals arranged, in the dry season and the rainy season, in short there was always a festival to be prepared for or learned from. And their order was fixed, after the hunter's festival it was the toolmaking festival and then the healer's, followed by the trader's.

All the many different crafts didn't have their own festivals. All the various toolmaking crafts shared in one, cooking shared in the Gatherer's festival etc. Even so it took two hands of years (i.e. eight years – author's note) before one festival of one kind came again. This period was to many federations a convenient election period, after some time resignations and appointments of new masters would often be timed to coincide with designated festivals. Among some federations the practice developed that ay'eyktan and councillors were appointed not for life time but for such a period, and normally reappointed if they had done their task to satisfaction. That such an eight-year period coincided with the number of na'vi fingers was no mere coincidence…

The contest was arranged so that their abilities in their crafts were tested to their full. Warriors on land went to competitions in athletics and martial arts like wrestling, fencing and archery. Sea warriors went to swimming and fishing competitions, and they held paddling races and sailing regattas. Craftspeople displayed their products in categories like weapons, boats, garments etc., and performing crafts like singers and story tellers held shows. And the entries in the competitions for those crafts that were more achievement than presentation or creation were asked to take the limelight and retell their experiences, they might afterwards be given marks of respect for it. In this category came priestesses who had had success with very complicated invocations, criminal catchers who had apprehended a dangerous fugitive, diplomats who had managed to mediate a bitter disagreement and healers who had saved a life from some dangerous disease or had stemmed a virulent epidemic.

The contest was the central event of the celebration at the festival but there was more to it. Lots of good food, socializing and general merrymaking of course, but anyhow such events made good occasions for informal negotiations for various agreements, be it borders regulation, trade, extraditions of criminals, exchange of discoveries in crafts practice etc., facilitating the formal meetings later on. So students at the Academy were mostly present along with other ay'eyktan to get a hands-on experience with the lower levels of diplomacy. They were often tasked with managing the administrative affairs of the festivals, like lodging and serving the guests, handling their ay'ikran – the majority of the guests came airborne, of course – and working as stage managers with keeping the presenters in line and introducing them when they had their turn.

Another important affair with the festivals were their introductory function – not only coming eyktan but even common clanspeople learned to know na'vi from other clans and federations. Local patriotism for the entries of "our own lads and lasses" was the underpinning of the grand patriotism, not its undermining. And the festivals were major occasions for buying and selling various surplus products of the clans.

So when the students convened that day, Uwu'tey started the debate of the day with asking them to talk about their experiences during the festival.

Toko'au, srung olo'eytkan of the Desert clan:

"A huge experience of course. I have seen a lot of people from all over Namana Land, and even some from other lands too. Many interesting chats, I have been told things I never would have believed if I had not heard it told by someone who knew out of own experience…"

Wa'taä, srung tsahik of the Mountaineer clan:

"That is probably one of the main reasons for us to attend such arrangements, don't you think?"

Her mate, Kau'hau, wanted the debate to be informative, not just fireside chit-chat:

"Name a few ideas new to you in particular, Toko'au!"

"I came to discover that differences between Na'vi mainlands are greater than I had believed. The language at Southern Land is hard to understand, I have been told so but to meet them face to face is something else. I knew that those at Western Islands are fishers to their cores but that this is so ingrained in their traditions was astonishing to discover – they saw the smallest details about boats on display and they once heartily disagreed with the decision of the toolmaking ay'eyktan of the tribe, about which design was the most worthy for award, and when food was served they preferred fish and other water animals. And there were a few guests from Northern Land present, they wore leggings fastened to the loincloth string, and armlets to the shoulders and aprons hung from the necklace and tucked into the loincloth string further down. They presented some garment they put on during the cold season, some leather shoes and long capes – they need it to keep rain and cold wind at bay they said, hard to imagine that they need such but they probably know the weather at their land…"

His mate Tzetz put in:

"I found it most interesting to note the differences in formal greetings. Among the Tomo'ingi it isn't sufficient to greet with 'oel ngate kameie' when you meet and with 'Eywa ngahu' when parting, when talking to many – making a speech that is – you need to start it with 'I am … and my words go thus: …' and end the speech with 'thus have I … spoken out aloud!' I regard this as overly stilted or what do you think? And those from Northern Land are very matter-of-fact, to the point and no idle talking. I could understand that some find them brusque and uncouth."

Deep thinking srung tsahik Ninomam of the Kilvan clan uttered, with her mate Tinito in wordless concurrence:

"It depends. The Tomo'ingi may regard us as brusque and uncouth too, and themselves as the epitomes of courteous manners. It follows that those scouts getting into regular contact with the Tomo'ingi should be specially trained, also so that they are familiar with affairs in current dispute among them. And the same is probably the case with other lands, talkers should specialize. And talkers should be tolerant with many different local customs pertaining to some clan or great land."

Uwu'tey nodded and put his eyes on Ninomam, and uttered:

"You are probably very right about that, Ninomam. But you, as an olo', nkxi' and kifike eyktan, will occasionally be supposed to meet with envoys and whole delegations from other federations. It will be hard to keep up with all manners of behaviour of all na'vi, so how can we make sure that relations are kept on a civil level? Words are for you, students."

Tinito spoke up:

"An eyktan and tsahik may not be experienced with foreign traditions but it will be up to the talker with experience with these people to educate his superiors about what to expect from them, about their moods, ways of talking and manners etc. so that no disastrous misunderstandings and insults take place. And those taking part in such delegations should also steel themselves with acknowledging that those they are to visit may be unversed in their ways of politeness, formalities and inclinations."

Wa'taä took over:

"It is probably important to make a strong distinction between skin and meat of our talking. Wrap it in all due formalities but when specific topics are to be uttered, keep it simple and straight-forward."

Kau'hau gave a small contribution:

"I saw that during the festival. The talkers were apparently trained in such talking, what tawtute call 'rhetorics'."

Tzetz gave one more item for consideration:

"It is a fact that na'vi society is constantly evolving, slowly and imperceptibly but steady and surely, quite apart from huge leaps like Jakesully has brought to us. So probably there will in time develop a special behaviour for use with na'vi from far away. Like a compromise between Tomo'ingi manners and Northern frankness."

And the debate carried on and on, after lunch it changed to making ready for the up and coming tribe warrior festival. It was time to put what they had absorbed into use.


End file.
